


Please Subscribe

by cardinalwrites



Category: SPN, Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Angst, Convention, Dean Winchester - Freeform, Destiel - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, High School AU, Language, M/M, Mentioned suicide, Sam Winchester - Freeform, Slow Build, This is gonna be a roller coaster, Video, YouTube, YouTubers - Freeform, carry on, castiel - Freeform, first series, mentioned house fire, small fight scenes, vine, viner, vlog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-04-21 02:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 48,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4810646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cardinalwrites/pseuds/cardinalwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Come explore the world of YouTube through the eyes of an unlikely pair. From first meetings and conventions to twists and turns behind the scenes, Please Subscribe is not your average video, but then again, Dean and Cas are not your average YouTuber.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Press Play"

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter series so sorry for any typos or things in advance.

“You mean you want me roll my tongue while singing a tune?” Dean asked his little brother who was currently holding his phone.

“Yeah, Dean, it’s part of my next video!” Sam responded excitedly as he pushed a button on his phone and hit record. “It’s part of a seven-second challenge thing that a lot of Youtubers have been doing.”

Dean couldn’t help but chuckle at his little brother’s enthusiasm. “You’ve been doing this for what, like, three months?”

Sam nodded before he realized that the camera couldn’t see his face. “Yeah and I’ve already gotten over 100 subscribers! I’d promised them that if I reached that by the end of the month then I’d introduce them to the dumber brother that was in the back of my videos.”

Dean just smiled and nodded. Sam always wanted to film whenever Dean did homework. He figured it was just Sam's way, but apparently his followers had been asking. “Well then, hi,” he says as he stares into the camera, pulling his best blue steel, “I’m Dean. I’m an Aquarius and enjoy long walks on the beach–“

“This isn’t a way to get a date, Dean!” Sam cut him off somewhat with a laugh. “Just hurry up and sing already.”

Dean thought back to all of the decisions that had led to this moment. He had been the one to intoruduce Sam to the world that is Youtube while he himself was more into Vine since he didn’t have much of an attention span most of the time. Ever since then Sam has called other Youtubers and Viners for collaborations and working on projects together that lived in the general vicinity of Kansas, which explained why his account grew so quickly in such a short time span. Now Dean was stuck here making a fool of himself for 7 seconds, only this time on another social medium.

Sam nods for him to get ready before he hits the 7-second countdown while recording. Immediately Dean jumps into the first song that pops into his head and rolls his tongue accordingly to “Carry on My Wayward Son” by Kansas.

When the 7 seconds are over Sam turns the camera onto himself and says, “And there you go, my brother the off-key tongue twister.”

“Oh shut up!” Dean joked as he pushed his brother, who now had the camera pointed at both of them. “Let me know when the video’s up so I can post a vine after. Don’t want to ruin the surprise of course.”

Sam walked to where his camera equipment was set up so as to mount the camera onto the tripod for the rest of filming. “These videos are gonna soar, Dean,” he says with a smile. "Who knows, maybe some day I’ll get to collaborate with the Castiel!”

Dean turned at the name. Sam of course was talking about Castiel Novak, probably one of the more well-known Youtubers since Castiel is also a Viner. Dean has seen some of Cas’s vines and found them funny-–no, absolutely hysterical--but he had yet to see any of his Youtube videos. The guy was more famous than both Sam and Dean on any media, and Dean Winchester was proud of his 2 million loops. Sam himself may have 100 subscribers, but he had over 20,000 views across all his videos. Cas would leave them both in the dust and then some. “You’ll get there, Sammy,” Dean says, never wanting to discourage his little brother.

Sam merely smiles before fiddling with his camera some more. “I’m gonna try to have it up by the end of this week. Do you remember ‘Mega Meg’? She was the youtube that came over that tried to get me to roll down a hill in a tire.”

Dean looked up from where he was now sitting at the kitchen table, homework half spread out in front of him. Man he hated high school. “That crazy chick? What about her?” Dean had never really liked Meg. Too destructive, even for him. 

“Well she told me that she got Castiel to watch some of my videos. She says she knew him from back when they were kids. Isn’t that awesome? Castle probably knows who I am!”

Dean silently stared at his little brother, the freshman at Lebanon High School where Dean was a senior. He nodded with a smile and attempted to turn his attention back to his work. Math was never his thing, and it was not helping that Dean kept diverting his thoughts to what Sam had just said. Once Sam’s newest video goes up there’s a chance that Cas will see it, Dean thinks. He’s shaken out of his thoughts soon enough when Sam catches him with a far off smirk and Dean goes back to attempting to integrate numbers.


	2. SamSolves

Castiel logged on to his Youtube account for probably the 12th time this week, constantly updating and connecting with his followers. Since being a youtuber was his full time job, Castiel constantly juggled video ideas and conventions every other weekend. It was a busy life, but not one he would give up easily.

He was on his bed just about ready to start working on his latest installment of midnight video games when Meg shot him a message.

_Hey Unicorn, that kid I told you about uploaded his video and he made me send you this message once it was up._

Castiel reread the message once more before typing a response, slightly puzzled.

_Liar, no one tells you what to do. You’re not even in this one are you? Thanks for letting me know but it’s weird for you to actually be nice to someone._

A minute later: _What can I say, I’ve got a soft side for the little kid who idolizes you._

Castiel nodded at her response before clicking open a new YouTube tab. After some time searching for the name “SamSolves,” he finally clicked on the video of the 15-year-old looking kid with long hair. “’Seven-second Challenge Montage,’ huh?” Castiel said to himself. Since he was usually the only one in his bunker of an apartment, he put the speakers on volume and sat back as the video loaded. “Those always end up being fun.”

The video starts with a face of who Castiel believes is probably Sam judging from the age and the fact that Sam starts the video out with “What’s up? It’s Sam again!” Castiel slowly smiles. Okay, so maybe the kid was innocent. He has no idea what he’s getting into...

The video goes on to the challenges enacted by what Castiel can assume are Sam’s friends judging by the ever-changing graphic titles under each one as they issue their challenge. There was Jo dancing like a chicken while singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” Kevin who names 5 animals that started with the letter “A,” and an athletic girl named Ruby that jumped up 10 times before landing on Sam and the camera. All fun and games, and Sam seemed to be enjoying each one.

Castiel watched with mild enthusiasm. The kid’s enjoyment stretched beyond the screen. He could really make it as a Youtuber if he keeps these things up. Castiel was lost in his thoughts of his earliest videos when a face appears on his computer.

““You mean you want me roll my tongue while singing a tune?” came the voice of a one Dean Winchester, face popping up right out of the blue. Castiel momentarily froze upon seeing the green-eyed boy’s face. He’d seen a few of his vines pop up on his dash from other viners and had laughed at his corny jokes, but he would’ve never guessed that the guy was a Youtuber, too.

“I’d promised them that if I reached that by the end of the month then I’d introduce them to the dumber brother that was in the back of my videos,” came Sam’s voice from off screen. Castiel just stared, probably more than he will ever admit to anyone, even Charlie, as the “dumber brother” smirked and smiled before he looked straight into the camera. _Who would’ve thought Dean Winchester would show up here..._

Dean marches into a tongue rendition of “Carry on My Wayward Son” and Castiel audibly gasps. Even if it’s just rolling “R’s” that boy can _sing._ The video cuts right after Dean finished with a text at the bottom saying “NAILED IT” and just as quickly as he came, boom. Dean is gone again.

The video ends with Sam talking about playing the game with his friends, but by that point Castiel had already dropped into the comments. It’s something he usually did with his own videos so it was more instinct than it was purposefully. He’s just starting to read them when he hears a crash by the door to the apartment Charlie calls the “bunker.”

“OH BROTHER GUESS WHO’S HOME?!” Gabriel’s half drunk voice resonates throughout the open space. Castiel groans. _I really do not need this right now..._

Gabe comes into Castiel’s room and flops down on the lazy bed next to Castiel and his computer. “What’cha watching, all mighty video nerd?”

“I’ll give you three guesses, court jester,” Castiel responds. Gabriel was the kind of brother you either loved or desperately wanted out of your life. Since the rest of the family decided Castiel was of the latter, he tended to let Gabriel come into his home from time to time.

“Gimme,” Gabriel reaches for the computer and Castiel hits refresh so as to give Sam another extra view. In Youtube, a view is a lot, so Castiel helps out whenever he shows someone else a video he’s already seen. Gabriel watches with rapt attention, laughing when Ruby tackled Sam or when an older man named Bobby told Sam to bother his brother instead of him. Castiel watched over Gabriel’s shoulder when Dean’s face came onto the screen once more.

Gabriel gave no signs of recognition, despite Castiel knowing he had shown his brother some of Dean’s vines every once in a while. Just after Dean’s face left the computer the screen turned black, signifying that a segment was over. In that brief moment Castiel caught sight of his eyes and tried to hide the smile he had unknowingly plastered onto his face. Gabriel made no sudden movements, but Castiel was sure he had seen it, too.

When the video ended, Gabriel looked up, though he didn’t take his eyes off of the computer screen. He turned towards Castiel, but now Castiel couldn’t see the computer screen. “All right, spill,”

“What?” Castiel looked at his brother and attempted his best “I have no idea what you’re talking about face.”

“Bro, you suck at lying.” Gabriel chuckled as he typed something onto the computer. “These comments are something else, huh?”

“I didn’t really get to read them what with a sudden explosion of half drunkenness coming into my house.”

“I’m not that drunk. Just slightly buzzed. Looks like the ladies really like this Dean kid, don’t they?” Gabriel said as he stared at Castiel, a double meaning clearly laid in his words.

Castiel rolled his eyes and moved to try to get his computer back. “Go home, Gabe. I’m sure everyone else is worried about you.”

Gabriel let out a huff before moving to get up. “Sure, buddy, sure. But fair warning, you should probably lock that door of yours.” Gabriel closed the computer screen and proceeded to get a lollipop out of his pocket. He popped it into his mouth before waving and exiting Castiel’s room. A few minutes later Castiel heard the door to the bunker close before he diverted his attention back to the computer.

Castiel opened the computer back up and observed what Gabe had written, and of course the idiot posted the comment without telling Castiel.

“You mention that his eyes are really green once and suddenly everyone thinks you like him,” he says to himself as he rereads the comment “he” had posted. His cursor is hovering over the “delete” icon when he thinks, _He does have cool vines, and Meg did say that Sam was a fan._ With that, he decided to leave the comment. Why not brighten the little brother’s day? And Gabriel’s comment did necessarily reveal anything he would outright deny. Harmless. Nothing wrong there. _What the heck, I’ll leave it._

Castiel checks the time before he takes out his own camera and starts his set up for his next video. _Time to focus..._


	3. Just A Typical Day, Only It Isn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it was national cheeseburger day and Destiel Day/Castiel's birthday, I wanted to quickly get this out as a gift. Enjoy (and as always ignore any spelling errors if there are any).

“This is totally weird, but can I take a picture with you?”

Dean was half way through his delicious cheeseburger when a freshman came up to where Benny and he were sitting. He was holding his burger mid bite when the black haired girl asked her question.

“Of course. I’m assuming you’re a fan of my vines?” This happened every few days always at the beginning of the school year, particularly with the freshman and transfers that didn’t know Dean as a human yet. It’s not like Dean didn’t mind, of course. He loved meeting his fans. It struck him speechless each and every time someone would come up and ask him for a picture or an autograph.

Benny, who was sitting beside Dean drinking his fruit punch, motioned for the girl to give him her phone. Once in place Dean leaned into the frame and gave a small smile with a thumbs up.

“Thank you! I’m Becky, by the way. First year here.” Becky held out her hand in a polite gesture. Dean smirked, completely getting at where this girl thought this conversation was going. He smiled and politely shook her hand before winking.

“Dean Winchester. Welcome to LHS.”

Becky was at a loss for words before she smiled and looked down at her toes. Not wanting to draw any more attention to either himself or Becky as now other people in the cafeteria had begun looking in his direction, Dean motioned for Becky to sit down. Once Dean had introduced Benny, Becky’s mind began working again.

“So how do you think of your videos? I mean they’re GOLD.” Her eyes were wide with enthusiasm when she spoke. Dean couldn’t help but smiling. He always did like people that were passionate.

“I don’t know just spur of the moment I guess,” Dean answered honestly. It was true. Most of the time his vines were witty one-liners he would think of instead of doing homework. Some were from when he worked for Bobby or Ellen part time, and there are a few of him pranking Benny and Sam, but it still blows Dean’s mind that people find him entertaining as is. “What made you see some of my videos?”

  
“Oh that’s easy. One of my favorite YouTubers talked about you. I just followed the thread.” Becky looked as if she was on cloud nine. Dean wondered if this was how it felt like to be a celebrity but quickly shut that fantasy down.

Figuring she meant her idiot brother, Dean continued, “Yeah well that would make sense. You’ll probably see him around, too.”

“WHAT” Becky nearly shrieked, sending Dean into a fit of laughter so as to try to cover up the screech that had emanated from the girl’s mouth. _Guess she didn’t know we were brothers..._

Becky caught sight of the weird looks now being directed towards their table and lowered her voice to the usual cafeteria clamor level. “You mean I could meet my angel here? O.M.G. I think I might die!”

Dean stayed silent throughout this exchange and made a mental note to make sure this girl never meets Sam. Benny picked up on Dean’s stiff stance and came in to save him from awkwardness.

“Hey bud our class starts in five we better get going... Nice meeting you, Becky.” He practically yanked Dean out of the cafeteria table and began walking to the exit. Dean hurriedly waved goodbye to Becky before disappearing through the doors.

Once out of earshot Benny burst out laughing. “Dude, I don’t know if that is what they call a fan girl but I loved it.”

Dean couldn’t help but chuckle. “She seemed sweet dude, no need to call in the SWAT team completely. You know I like talking to fans.”

“Yeah, I do. How many you got now anyway? When was the last time you checked?”

Dean shrugged, completely clueless. They were half way down the hallway to math, but in reality time was on their side for once. “I think it was nearing 800 k last time I checked, but that was maybe two months ago.” He knew he was famous in some circles, sure, but not extremely or enough to be invited to conventions out of state or out of country like other Viners.

“Check dude. ‘Cause that’s the fourth girl this week and that doesn’t happen after two months into school during September.”

Dean sighs, agreeing in his mind. While this did happen, it never occurred more than 5 times a month, so it was odd. Dean pulled out his phone and quickly moved to the Vine app, silently thinking whoever had their ears on that the hallway was empty. He audibly gasped when he saw the number below his profile picture.

1.5 million followers. Next to 4 million loops across his videos.

His numbers basically doubled overnight.

“What. The. Holy. Hell. Benny.” Dean said no more as he showed him the screen. Instead of internally combusting like Dean was on the inside, Benny instead nodded once as if he knew the stats before he had asked the question. “Someone must have recognized you, and I’m willing to bet it wasn’t Sam.”

The bell rang at that moment as the tired students of Lebanon High School filed out of the cafeteria and to their classes. Benny pushed Dean’s blank mind into his math class where he spent the last hour of his day stealing glances at his phone, Benny’s words echoing in his head.

_Someone must’ve recognized you, and it wasn’t Sam._

_~_

Dean impatiently waited for Sam by his car in the student parking lot, a vintage yet totally clean 1967 Chevy Impala, featured in many of Dean’s vines since he normally records in his car or right next to it. Dean is about to burst when Sam tackles him in the parking lot.

“30 k views, Dean! THIRTY. THOUSAND. VIEWS.” Sam is nearly shouting, completely oblivious to the forming dent in Dean’s head from hitting the Impala’s side door. He gestures for Sam to get in the car before Dean gets in the driver’s side and starts backing out of the school parking lot. Sam was gonna explain all this, so there was no point in trying to get a word in just yet.

“I looked at the video this morning, Dean, and I only thought it would reach the 500 mark before it would blow up like the last ones, but I. WAS. WRONG.” Sam was talking animatedly, throwing his too long hands in the air and hitting the hood of the Impala with each fist jab.

“Wow I’d never thought you’d be wrong about something, Sasquatch,” Dean jabbed, reaching the Singer Apartment in record time. Dean worked part time for Bobby in exchange for room and board. It’s long story that Dean doesn’t usually want to delve into, but after the fire that left Dean in charge of Sam, his dad’s old hunting buddy had Sam and Dean move in with him. Dean only agreed if he could pay for it. It was a good system, for the most part.

“Oh shut up, Dean. This is huge,” Sam continued, pulling Dean out of his thoughts. I haven’t been able to get on a computer to see why it blew up. Jo just told me that today.”

“Go set up the computer, I’ll get our stuff,” Dean said, and with that Sam was gone and well into the house as Dean went to pick up his brother’s backpack. Once inside the house, Dean set their things out while Sam stared open mouthed at the computer.

“What’s up? Cat got your tongue?” Dean smirked before he moved to see the computer screen. Under the comments section was a thread about Dean in the video. Dean was used to reading comments about him in vines and some of Sam’s other videos, but he wasn’t used to reading the words “Castiel Novak commented...”

It was under a thread called _Is that Dean??_ Where various users were talking about Dean’s face. Just under someone asking about Dean’s eyes is the famous Youtuber’s comment:

 

_CastielNovak : That, ladies, gents, and non-binaries, is none other than the drop dead hilarious DeanWinchester who has a very green vine account. Check it out._

There is a link that connects to Dean’s Vine account, which more than explains the suddenly leap in everything for the eldest Winchester.

Both brothers are silent for a long time, each contemplating his thoughts as to the sudden development in their online lives. Becky hadn't been talking about Sam at all. She had been talking about _Cas_.

Duh.

Dean is the first to break the silence with a huffed laughter. “Shit, Sam. He does know who we are.”

“You said it,” was all Sam could say before he handed Dean the computer, a weird expression in his eye that Dean could not place.

“Why are you giving me the computer?”

“You watch his vines and apparently he watches yours, too. You might as well watch his videos and actually know just why this guy has the type of following that goes nuts over _one_ comment on something he’s not even remotely related to. Goodnight.” Without another word, Sam leaves the kitchen table and heads to his room, leaving Dean with no other choice but to plug in his headphones and go to Cas’s YouTube page.

 _All right, Cas. You’ve watched Sam’s videos I might as well watch yours,_ Dean hit play on Castiel’s first video from over 7 years ago.

What Dean didn’t know is that not 5 miles away Castiel Novak was in his room having popcorn as he went online.

 

 _What else does this Winchester have in store?_ Castiel thought as he clicked on Sam’s intro video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is backstory, if the ending didn't make that part obvious enough :)


	4. A Day in the Life of Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay for heart wrenching backstory!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one does have the potential for getting a little depressing (but character development), so be advised. It gets better at the end I promise.  
> TW: mentioned suicide and arson

**“So, uh, welcome to this channel I guess,” came a rather high-pitched voice out of Dean’s computer as he stared at the blue-eyed boy on the screen, aged 7 years younger than his current form. Castiel’s first ever video and the guy looked a lot like Sam does when he’s recording, not quite sure why he’s staring at a camera and talking yet determined to see it through to the end. Dean couldn’t help but smile.**

**Castiel’s first video was an introduction of himself and who he was. Simple and easy; his way of unknowingly starting his digital career. _Cas must’ve been one of the originals,_ Dean thought as he continued to scroll through more of his videos.  He’d go to one vlog before switching back to another and move the cursor to another time stop, trying to absorb information quickly rather than sitting down and watching in full. So he was a Viner first, sue him.**

**As Dean went over more of Castiel’s newer introduction videos Dean learned that Cas was his age, also lived in Kansas, and had graduated early from a private school. Cas has done acting and singing while also some more elaborate short stories with his brother Gabriel, a prankster that popped in every so often while Cas was filming. Dean found himself laughing whenever Cas would jump at his older brother’s voice. _These guys remind me of two other brothers..._**

**Cas also had a sister named Anna, who would show up and smother Cas whenever he was filming, which meant she showed up _a lot_. She would smile at the camera before leaving quickly, like a feather in the wind. Castiel always smiled wider whenever Anna made an appearance  Dean gathered that they must be close. **

**This scrolling and viewing pattern was somewhat working until Dean went to Cas’s full page to view all of his videos. Years accumulated quickly with over 180 videos, vlogs, and challenges. Dean stared at the screen before he looked at the clock on his bedside table:**

**10 PM.**

**_I’ll just watch a few more..._ **

~

 

Castiel chewed his popcorn as if he were watching a movie at the theater. Sam’s videos, while few in number, were cinematic films with story and sense, albeit though lacking in title creativity. In the few months that Sam’s channel had been active he’s posted over 25 videos, all ranging in subject manner and with various collaborations. Castiel recognized Meg as well as other smaller Youtubers that had channels. It was obvious as to just why Sam’s videos had so many views, regardless if that reflected his subscriber count. It was steadily rising, blowing past the original 100 subscribers Sam had had not two days prior.

Out of curiosity Castiel scrolled down to the comments section of Sam’s video with “Mega Meg” and caught sight of the ever so unpleasant URLs of Crowley’s “demons”. Meg had run with them before so it was understandable that they had found Sam’s video with her, but it didn’t please Castiel one bit that KingCrowley and his “Demon(Insert whatever name here)”s were commenting. They mainly ignored Sam in their comments, so no harm done. Yet...

Castiel moved to another video brilliantly titled, “Pranks with Sam” and sat back, patiently waiting for the video to load. He nearly choked on his popcorn when Dean’s face came on screen instead.

It was a frozen shot of Dean sitting at what appeared to be Sam and his dining room table, Dean lost in frustrated thought as his eyes looked at the paper spread out in front of him. Sam’s voice-over came up saying, “This is my brother, but today, this is my _target_.”

Castiel paused the video, continuously staring at Dean’s pained face. _He must really not like school or whatever those papers hold,_ he thought before he clicked “play” again...

 

~

 

**It’s been 5 hours.**

**5 hours of crying, laughing, and smiling like an idiot at a boy on a computer screen for Dean. He had given up on his cut-and-move-on routine after spotting and clicking on a video titled “Anna’s Bananas.” That showed Anna running and jumping through the family’s house while Dean assumes Cas’s dad is yelling at her. Anna’s carefree and rebel attitude was infectious, as evidenced by how many of these videos and similar ones were on Castiel’s channel.**

**Dean was just getting over his fit of laughter when his eye caught another CastielNovak video, this one titled “I’m Sorry.” It was one of Cas’s most popular videos with well over 5 million views and 3 million comments. Dean had no idea what he had gotten himself into, but thinking he was already in too deep he might as well watch the next video.**

**Immediately upon clicking “I’m Sorry,” Dean knew the atmosphere was different. Castiel appeared but not in his usual happy, awkward self. No music either; just Castiel staring dejectedly down at his knees, eyes and cheeks red, his blue eyes popping out even more.**

**Dean immediately wanted to come through his computer screen and comfort the blue-eyed boy. Castiel was in a completely new background, one Dean only vaguely knew from watching some of Cas’s newer videos. Whatever this video was, it was not meant to be fun. He had been lost in his own thoughts when Cas’s voice spoke through the speakers.**

**“Hey guys,” Cas started. He sounded tired and had a raspy voice, as if he’d been crying. “Um, as much as I’ve talked about what I’ve learned and tried to make people laugh, I know a lot of you have been asking about my family and how they’re doing. Uh...”**

**There was a pause as Castiel collected his thoughts. When the video didn’t cut Dean recognized that it hadn’t been edited at all. This was Castiel, as raw as he’d ever seen him.**

**“As I’ve talked about before,” Castiel resumed, “my family is an extremely conservative one. My dad sticks to religion as if he were God himself and so my brothers and sisters kind of grew up with the mindset of a severely Christian family.” Castiel’s voice had wavered on the word “sisters,” but he persevered.**

**“Well, um, that makes coming out to them a bit of an issue,” Cas gave a nervous smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. “And to top it all off, this week has been particularly difficult because, uh, as I’m sure many of you have seen, Anna committed suicide two days ago...” Castiel’s voice cut abruptly as he stared at his knees, trying his hardest to keep it all in.**

**Dean was silent throughout the entire 20-minute video as Castiel talked about how his sister Anna had been severely ostracized by their** **family because she did not believe in all of their father’s works and beliefs. She was always a rebel, but never in a horrible or terrible way. The family knew that Castiel and Anna were close siblings. Castiel would tell Anna everything and vice-versa, which is why Castiel came out to his sister before anyone else.**

**“Immediately Anna was supportive and thrilled for me,” Castiel spoke fondly, remembering long forgotten memories. “We would talk for hours and it was as if we had our own little secrets within this familial prison. Never horrible secrets, but at the same time we had our own thoughts.”**

**Castiel stopped for a minute and looked down at his knees again. “She had told me she didn’t want to be in this world anymore after Dad had told her she couldn’t marry her college boyfriend and made her break up with him." That was just the last straw in a series of battles between Castiel’s Dad and Anna, which ended in Anna leaving the house. Castiel had found her two days later in her dorm room.**

**“My dad wouldn’t believe me after I’d called the ambulance,” the blue-eyed boy’s voice was low, barely audible. “I asked him why he had been so cruel to her that drove her to this and he didn’t give me a response. My family does not go online a lot so I doubt they even know these videos exist, which is why I feel like it’s important that I share this just with you all.” Castiel looked up from his knees for the first time in a solid 6 minutes. His eyes were redder, obviously from crying while he had been** **talking. Dean sniffed his nose and touched his own face, never even having realized he had started crying as well.**

**“Long story short my dad didn’t go to Anna’s funeral, and so the next day I told my Dad to screw himself and just left. Gabe helped me move my stuff to this place just off the property.” Cas made a gesture wit his arms to indicate the room. “This is the bunker, as a friend of my has coined it. Thanks to these videos I am self-sufficient and don’t have to pay rent or get a job, so don’t you all fret!” Castiel tried to lighten the mood, some signs of his classic peacefulness poking through.**

**“The reason I tell you this story was not for you to feel pity for me because that is absolutely the last thing that I want you all to garner from this. I may feel horrible at the moment but I just wanted to let you all know that I am still here and I am okay. If I can be okay after such a crappy week than you can, too. Thank you.” Castiel’s tired voice smiled at the camera, this time his eyes crinkling slightly in sincerity.**

**The screen went black, giving Dean the ability to look at his face for the first time in over 7 hours. His eyes were shot and puffy. Clearly he had been crying for far longer than he had realized. Dean had never understood that the boy he had seen on Vine had lived through such a terrible patch in his life. It makes Dean’s life struggles seem so much less important. They both had struggled, yet Cas chose to keep moving just like Dean had...**

 

~

 

When Sam does a prank war he does not mess around.

Within minutes Castiel found himself laughing hysterically as he watched Sam glue his brother’s drink to his hand, blast Taylor Swift from Dean’s Impala while he was driving, and apply makeup to Dean’s face while he was asleep, all set to a very crazy soundtrack.

Each and every time a prank happened Dean would scream, “SAMMY!” before Castiel would hear Sam’s contained laughter in the background. The majority of Sam’s videos were played out in this similar manner.

There were not a lot of videos that had personal information, which Castiel reasoned was because Sam was most likely under 18. By the looks of the majority of his videos it’s obvious the brothers love each other and that their family seems united. Castiel felt a pang of jealousy at that thought, but it went away almost instantaneously. He doesn’t know their life story, so why dwell on something that he can never have? Castiel calmed the tears that had been threatening to form upon those thoughts and clicked on Sam’s latest video.

Just as Dean came on screen again singing “Carry On My Wayward Son” Castiel started to feel better again. It’s been a rough year, but as he listened to the green eyes rolling the tune, Castiel believed he could continue carrying on.

 

~

 

**Dean was a crying mess. Once “I’m Sorry” had finished, Dean saw the publication date and nearly started crying again upon seeing that it had been posted only 6 months ago. _Poor Cas left his home and lost his sister just six months ago..._ Dean thought. **

**There’s no way Castiel could know about Dean’s life and his parents’ deaths in the fire that singlehandedly destroyed his life almost 2 years ago now. Mary and John Winchester had been soulmates, yet an arsonist that had it out for John had decided it would be Sam and Dean’s house that would go down.**

**Dean remembers clearly being pulled out of class when it happened. In the span of 2 hours everything he had ever known had been burned up. Dean pulled Sam out of class for the rest of the day and drove him to the Singer auto shop to spend the day. Bobby took them in that night and never looked back.**

**_Stop it. STOP. IT._ Dean screamed at himself. He did not want to go back there. Not now.**

**Sniffling, Dean looked over to the clock on his bedside table. _5:30 AM_ it read. **

**_School starts in two hours..._ He’d been up all night watching the blue-eyed boy.**

**Dean’s mind immediately went back to Cas. Just like Dean, Cas had carried on with his life and made it better for himself. Dean made up his mind that he was going to do the same.**

**Dean pulled out his phone and went to the vine app, because this called for an impromptu video. Scrolling through to the “record” button, Dean thought on the fly, unsure of just exactly it was that he was going to do. The second he hit record, though, he knew.**

**“Carry on my wayward son. They’ll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don’t you cry no more...” Dean sang, trying his hardest to conceal the tears threatening to overflow from his eyes.**

**It was a miracle he made it within time, and putting your hand at the beginning and end of videos allows for a nice loop to form. It was one of Dean’s better outta-the-blue vines that he’s made, but he wasn’t thinking that right then.**

**Instead, all Dean could think about was Castiel, finally understanding why the dude had such a crazy name. In the comments section of his new vine Dean wrote, “For those who have fallen. Here’s a pick me up.”**

**Dean hit “Done” just as he heard the shower start running. He moved from his bed and began attempting to pull himself together for the day.**


	5. Lines, Vines, and Fun Times

It’s been two weeks since Sam posted the 7-second challenge video; 1 week and 3 days since Castiel Novak commented on said video, and in both Sam and Dean’s accounts have only continued to skyrocket in popularity. Even around the halls both under and upperclassmen alike began to notice whenever Sam or Dean entered a classroom. It was more attention that either brother had ever received in his online career, and Dean had been recognized and invited to small conventions in Kansas every once in a while.

“It’s scary amazing just how much a couple of words can spur a movement,” Benny marveled as he and the brothers sat down at the cafeteria for lunch.

“Yeah!” Sam beamed, “It really puts that whole public speaking thing you like into perspective.” He began munching into his fish sticks. The boy wanted to be an activist, which is one of the reasons as to why he started the YouTube channel to begin with since he wanted to get better at speaking to audiences.

Dean watched as Benny continued talking to Sam, his mind still faraway into the World Wide YouTube Web. Sam and he had posted a video the week prior thanking the new subscribers and for the channel having reached over 500 so quickly. There wasn’t anything particularly extravagant planned since Sam had never dreamed of reaching that goal in such a short amount of time, but that didn’t stop him from deciding to get Dean on camera to say a few words.

In that time Dean had been thinking about Castiel and how the blue-eyed boy must just not go out in order to avoid recognition or just wanting to privacy. He’d caught himself thinking quite often about Cas in the past two weeks. Just after he’d finished watching _every_ CastielNovakvideo Dean had thought about contacting the guy to thank him for promoting his Vine account. Every time he was about to hit send on the private message, though, he would pause and delete it. _You’re over thinking this stuff, Winchester._

Dean had just started lazily eating his burger, lost in his own thoughts when 2 girls cautiously walked up to the table, notebooks tightly clutched to their chests. _Second time today and it’s only eleven AM,_ Dean smirked at his inward thought just as the girl with blonde hair made eye contact with Sam.

“Um, hi guys. Sorry to barge into your talking or anything, but is it okay if I get your autograph, Sam?” She smiles behind her notebook, clearly embarrassed but being goaded on by the black haired girl behind her.

Sam says nothing; he just looked at the girl like she’s the Mona Lisa and he’s Da Vinci trying to capture her in a single moment in time. He’s visibly nervous with this girl in front of him, and so with Dean being the big brother that he is, he goes in for Sam’s rescue.

“Hey Benny?” He turns to his best friend across the table, “Why don’t we give Sam and this fine lady a chance to talk for a little while?” He flashes the girl behind Sam a smile, trying his hardest to translate his motive to her without giving anything away to the frozen boy and the nervous girl. Sam had mentioned a one Jessica Moore in the past that he had a major freshman crush on, and so of course Dean’s idea of a rescue is to leave and let his brother at least try his public speaking skills out on an actual _person_ for once.

“Yeah, that sounds like a perfect idea. We’ve got a class to catch really soon anyway,” Benny plays along as he gets up from the table, forcing Dean to grab the remains of his burger and eat quickly. Dean grabs the food and motions for the black haired girl to follow him. The blonde-haired girl begins to realize that a long span of time has elapsed before she sits down next to Sam, who immediately thaws and begins babbling.

“Uh, yeah, okay, Dean. I’ll meet up with you after school,” Sam manages to get out before he turns to the girl now sitting beside him. “Hi, Jess. I’ve seen you around but I didn’t think you knew who I was...”

“Of course I know you, Sam,” Jess flashes him a smile. “I was in your history class for a week the first couple of days of school before they transferred me to psychology...”

Jess and Sam’s conversation quickly began fading as Dean and Benny walked away from the table. Sam can fend for himself in front of this girl, and who knows? Maybe his little brother will even score a date for once.

“Can I have a picture with you, Dean?” He’d almost forgotten that the black-haired girl had followed them. Dean stopped just outside of the cafeteria and was now standing in a pretty empty hallway, all of the kids either in class or at lunch. He shot the girl a smile before nodding. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Lisa. I’m in your mechanics class, actually,” her brown eyes brighten as she pulls her phone out. “Thanks a lot I know this is probably really weird for you.”

“Yeah, tell that to the guy’s best friend,” Benny chuckles as he takes Lisa’s phone. Seconds later the picture is taken and Lisa politely thanks Dean before giving him a hug. Just as Dean wraps one arm around her he feels a pressure in his hand as Lisa deposits a crumpled piece of paper into it. When they break apart Lisa winks.

“In case you ever want to make a video or something.” Without another word Lisa walks down the hall and disappears into the lockers. Dean casually looks into his hand to find a neatly scribbled phone number followed by a heart.

“Boy do the Winchesters know how to get ‘em!” Benny jokes as Dean puts the number in his wallet and pulls his own phone out.

“Speaking of which, let’s go see how the lovebirds are doing shall we?” Dean scrolls to the Vine app and opens up a new video.

He films himself first, “Welcome to Dean’s wildlife preserve!” Stop filming.

Dean and Benny walk back into the cafeteria and conceal themselves behind a trash can, Dean angling the camera as best as possible so that Sam’s face was in full view while only Jessica’s hair could be seen. Not everyone likes to be posted online, so it’s only fair that he film Sam and not Jess.

Dean resumes recording, the camera now poised on Sam, “And here we see the rare courting ritual of one Sam Winchester.” Dean continues the filming until the 6 seconds have finished, giving just enough time for Sam’s flustered mannerisms to make it on film.

Once finished, Dean and Benny watch the entire video through and snicker quietly, trying their hardest not to draw attention to themselves. Though it is a crowded, noisy cafeteria, Sam has the eyes and ears of a hawk even if his hair makes him look like a moose. A few quick edits on Dean’s phone later and the vine is published. The duo get up quickly and ninja their way out of the cafeteria, careful of Sam not seeing them.

Once they’re clear into the hallway Benny lets out a holler and grabs at Dean’s phone successfully, going back to the Vine record option. “I reckon this calls for a ‘Bite.’”

Dean rolls his eyes but let’s Benny have his phone. From time to time Benny will film his “Benny Bite” vines in where he would steal Dean’s camera and record a vine under Dean’s account, publishing it then and there and not giving Dean any say in what the final product looks like, captioning it with “Benny Bite!” For some reason Dean could never bring himself to delete the videos after Benny would give his phone back, thus they became a segment every once in a while that actually many of his followers seem to like.

Benny starts recording, pushing Dean onto a locker background that had horrible lighting in Dean’s opinion, but Benny was the kind of person that didn’t care too much about the light. “And how would a girl go about courting an eligible bachelor Dean Winchester?”

Dean laughed quickly before pulling out the paper from his wallet, showing it to the camera, and then putting it back in its place. “Well that was a nice try I gotta admit, but I don’t always swing that way,” Dean winks before diving onto Benny in an attempt to get his phone back.

Benny somehow still had his finger pressed on “Record,” and so in the kerfuffle of fighting for the phone Dean yells into the camera “Wear sensible shoes!” on a whim before the 6-second video stopped automatically.

Once Benny managed to successfully post the video, he triumphantly hands Dean his phone back just as the school bell rings, signaling the end of lunch.

“C’mon, sensible shoes, you have math class to go to,” Benny shoots him a grin before they head to their last classes of the day. Dean can only laugh and put his phone away. He’ll watch the vines later since he loves to read the comments, silently wondering if his shoe line made it in time.

It was a one-sided joke really, but in the spur of the moment Dean remembered one of Cas and Anna’s videos about Castiel’s coming out. Anna had jokingly said Castiel had always worn sensible shoes.

Dean mentally kicked himself while smiling as he sat down at his desk. _Get out of your head, Winchester. The guy just knows who you are. He doesn’t_ really _know you..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have the majority of the story planned out now, so cautiously expect a new chapter every week! (She says hopefully)


	6. Does He Know (Me)?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the chapter name is a loose reference to that Once Direction Song. I thought I was being funny at the time.

_Boom! Smash! crash!_ “ _Wear sensible shoe—“_

Castiel is dying of laughter as he stares at his phone, one hand over his mouth. He’d started following Dean’s vine account and has slowly starting to watch all of the green-eyed boy’s videos quickly, starting with the latest one posted only two days ago. Before Castiel could stop himself, he hits the “revine” button, realizing all too late just what he’d done.

            “Whelp, that will sure get the fangirls talking, little bro,” Gabriel pops in from over Castiel’s shoulder. Castiel tenses slightly, taken somewhat off guard, but he quickly relaxes as his trickster of a brother stares at his phone, ever present lollipop in his mouth.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gabe,” Castiel responded as nonchalantly as he could, already feeling the tips of his ears getting warm.

            “Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible liar?”

            Castiel doesn’t answer and patiently waits for Gabriel to leave. When the older boy doesn’t budge Castiel sighs. “Hey man, I have a video to edit and a day to start. I kinda need my home now if you don’t mind.”

            Gabriel chuckles before making a dramatic exit by holding his hand out in a cane-like appearance, quickly yanking his neck through and pulling himself through and out of the bunker doors. Gabe always has a comic response ready. No question.

            Not wanting to dwell on anything his brother said, Castiel turns to the video game vlog currently queued into Adobe Premiere on his computer. He gets up to lock the bunker doors quickly before putting on headphones and getting lost in editing. It was always one of his favorite things to do because it made him in control of what he wanted to export to the world. In the bunker, he was his own leader, and no one could control him.

 

~

 

            Sam makes 2 more videos and celebrates 1.5 k subscribers by the end of the month of September. Dean’s vine account is similar with his vines surpassing 6 million loops and over 2 million followers. It’s a surreal moment, but the beauty of being a YouTuber or a Viner was that privacy was usually intact, even in these stages. Unless people were actively online Sam and Dean could still hang out at their favorite spots and Dean could still work at Singer’s Auto Shop and Harvelle’s. Sure, they’d get recognized here and there, but it only helped Bobby and Ellen’s businesses.

            Dean liked the attention, don’t get him wrong, but there were some fans that seemed to forget he was human, and humans liked not being bugged while working on engines that needed attention.

            “HEY, DEAN!” Becky Rosen’s voice broke through the sound of auto parts moving and the shop’s music. Dean nearly cut his hand open from the sudden change in volume. He’d been working a double shift as a self-punishment for having missed last week, but in reality Bobby didn’t pay him in money anyway. Dean was just too stubborn to let Bobby lodge both Sam and him for free. “ _We ain’t no charity cases_ ,” Dean had told him when Bobby had first offered to let them stay with him. Bobby only agreed to have Dean work for him because it was clear Dean would not take no for an answer.

            So now Dean was covered from head to toe in oil and grease, wearing only a gray sleeveless shirt and torn up jeans when Becky comes skipping through the shop, her blonde hair more than once nearly hitting the sharp equipment that surrounded them.

            “Hi Becky, what brings you here?” Dean looks over his hand to make sure he didn’t see red. He continued tinkering while Becky came up and stood next to him, phone already in hand.

            “I was just wondering if you’d talked to Castiel lately?”

            Dean’s hand really did slip this time and grazed one of the sharper edges of the engine he had been working on. Cursing, he took his hand out and reached for the not-so-sanitized towel on his workstation table. _Of course Becky would be here to talk about Cas..._  
            “Becky, I’ve never met Cas, remember?” Dean turned to her to look her in the eye, trying his best to enunciate each word so as to get the message across. He wouldn’t have to do this if Becky would stop asking the same question every damn time she just happened to be within a mile of Dean.

            “Cas?” Becky paused; clearly the nickname Dean had given the blue-eyed boy had gone over her head. Once recognition dawned on her face she continued. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone call him that! But anyway, you guys should totally meet!” She was using her hands to emphasize her words. Sam had told Dean that this meant Becky was about to go on a long winded rant. “I mean, you guys already know each other online, what with you guys being mutuals and all. And he revined some of your flirtier vines, too, which clearly means something!”  
            “Whoa there, Becky,” Dean was not prepared to have his ear told off on the job. Though slightly confused about the “mutuals” term, Dean wanted to cut Becky’s rant as short as possible while still letting her get her point across. “I don’t know Cas personally. I’ve never even talked to him online.”

            “You totally should though! You’re just too scared to do it because you don’t want to hurt your ‘friendship.’” Jeez, this girl could not take the hint.

            Dean started at her with a bemused smile playing on his face. “Becky. I. Don’t. Know. Him.”

            “You’ll meet. I can see it. Since your fans are so similar and follow each of you they have already foretold it, Dean.”

            “You’re making it sound as if we’re married.”

            “Oh, but you are in some fan fictions I’ve read!”

            Dean coughed then, clearly wanting this conversation to stop. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t come across recent chatter about him and Cas on the Internet, but he didn’t think it’d become such a big _thing._ Not that he was complaining about it, but he doesn’t _really_ know Cas...

            “Oh, does that cross the line for you?” Becky may be oblivious at times, but she eventually catches on. “Don’t worry it’s not erotic or anything... For the most part.”

            “Becky, I need to work,” Dean could practically see his face turning red as he tried to keep his voice friendly but firm. It quivered on the word “work,” but not noticeable enough for even Becky to realize. Once she asked for her weekly picture Becky left, leaving Dean in a pool of emotions he was not ready to handle.

 

            Dean get’s home later that same day after picking up Sam from the library where he’d been studying with Jess.  Once they got to Bobby’s house it was back to the natural routine of Dean furiously staring at math on the dining room table while Sam set up his camera just in front of him in the living room. Dean’s phone was on the table in between the brothers, which gave Sam the perfect opportunity to snatch it while Dean wasn’t looking.

            “Hey, guys!” Sam smiles into Dean’s camera, the vine app currently recording. “This is Sam and I’ve got killer news!” he tilts the camera quickly so that Dean’s confused-yet-intrigued face appears in the corner of the square. “Dean here just agreed to start posting videos to my YouTube account! Check it out below!”

            “What?” Dean shoots his brother a baffled look just as the loop hits the 6-second mark. Sam adds the YouTube information in the caption section before hitting “Done,” and turning to Dean.

            “You’re now my official YouTube partner, bro.”

            “That has a name?”

            Sam shoots Dean one of his signature bitch faces, in this case #3. “’Course not I just made it up, but since you’re in so many of my videos anyway and you’re already popular on Vine and Twitter why not make it official?”

            “Alright, but no chick flick moments, ya hear?” Dean raises a finger at his brother, marking his point in space. Sam only grins and nods, clearly pleased that Dean accepted his offer.

            Once Sam went back to filming his video that turns out was an informational one about Dean joining the channel, the eldest Winchester looks down at his math homework, his mind completely elsewhere. He knew next to nothing about being a YouTuber, only that it required time and editing more than 6-second videos at a time. It’s not the work that he was thinking about; it was more about a new audience and working with his brother. In thinking more Dean’s mind ended with where it usually did every day: Cas. _The guy edits and does this for a living, and now I’m gonna start doing this, too..._

Dean had been so lost in his own world that he had no idea his brother had been recording him the entire time.

“I’ll give you one good guess as to who Dean is thinking about,” Sam half-whispers into the camera. Sam had checked the computer’s history and knew very well just how much and where Dean spent online these days. Plus he and Castiel had already traded a few revines on more than one occasion, prompting many of their mutual followers to get suspicious regarding the duo. Sam knew his audience, but more than anything he knew his brother, and right now, his brother had it _bad._

 

~

 

            A few days have passed full of Castiel watching more of Dean’s older vines and Sam’s newer videos. Now an active subscriber, Castiel would comment from time to time on videos or vines, but never working up the courage to talk to either Winchester via direct social media. He learned that Dean had a twitter account where a whole other side of the green-eyed boy could be found, and more than once Castiel had caught himself from favoriting or retweeting one of Dean’s older tweets from over a year ago. Whenever that did happen (which was only once), Castiel would delete the tweet immediately and pray to whoever was listening that Dean not catch on that a guy he didn’t know had stalked him.

Castiel was in the process of editing his latest music compilation when he noticed two new emails. One was a collection of all of the comments and activity on all of his social media channels and accounts. He looked through some of the comments and frowned upon reading of a DemonRuby on his feed.

 

            _DemonRuby_ : _I don’t understand why you all find this stuff “funny.” Castiel is just another wannabe King that never got his way._

Crowley’s “demons” as had it out for Castiel after he had responded to the king himself himself on Twitter towards the beginning of his Internet career. Either Crowley or one or more of his demons would constantly post negative comments like that on his videos, forcing Castiel to always take a couple of hours out of his life and delete them from the sections, blocking names he had remembered from other occurrences and trying his hardest to not let others see such hateful things. More than once Castiel has contacted the admins about the situations, which prompted in the activity dwindling for a few days before it would start back up again under a slightly altered username.

            Not wanting to get into more of those types of comments, Castiel tentatively skimmed through before switching over to check the second email.

 

**Castiel Novak,**

**Hello! Due to a high demand of fans asking for your return, I would like to formally invite you back for this year’s O-Con in Orlando as a special guest! Please RSVP with your availability and requirements so that we may continue to strive to accommodate all that you need and make this year better than the last!**

**-Regards**

**Gilda Oz**

Castiel read through the email one more time before sighing. O-Con was a small fandom convention in Orlando that he had been invited to and went last year, but what with Anna, his family, and moving out during the same time, the experience had not really been one of the highlights of his year. Regardless, he did get to see some of his Florida fans and got to visit the theme parts, and that was never a bad thing.

Immediately, Castiel took a picture of the email and snapchatted it to Charlie.

**Did you get this? Are you going?**

Instantly a response in text form. **Yeah, and I really wanna go but Charlene doesn’t.”** Charlene was Charlie’s acting double that was a part of her creative one-woman-show channel.

 **That’s still you, you know.** Castiel typed back quickly. Sometimes Charlie forgot she was also Charlene, but then again this was Charlie, the level 88 sorceress with over 200 spells at her disposal.

**Yes I am aware, Cassie.**

**O-Con has a lot of talent right? I’m kinda fuzzy on what was there last year.**

**Yeah, so there’s a lot of collaboration proposals coming your way if it’s anything like last year. You need more security there man it’s like you’re the main attraction at a zoo or something.**

The “...” symbol appeared in the app before Castiel could start typing a sarcastic response, signaling that Charlie was not done typing whatever it was that she was about to say next, so Castiel opted to wait rather than respond just yet.

**Saw your last video and I saw a certain face ;)**

Castiel’s brows knitted together in confusion, prompting him to take a selfie and write on top of it. **What face?** He captioned and hit send.

Charlie responded with a picture snap of her face using the “heart eyes” filter. **Your “I have a crush” face**

 **Do not,** Castiel wrote quickly. Probably too quickly. He looks into the Snapchat camera and sees that his cheeks were turning slightly pink. Before he could inspect further Charlie called.

“Would by any chance his name rhyme with Schmean Schminchester?” Charlie’s cheery voice came through the speakers.

“Charlie.” Castiel rolled his eyes, knowing full well that Charlie couldn’t see him.

“Oh come on,” Charlie retorted, “I’m not the only one who thinks it, Cassie. Remember that your followers learned from you about how to spot someone that’s hiding something after all.”

“Charlie.”

“I just got an idea. Hold on I’m coming over.”

“Char—“ The line went dead. “No stopping her,”Castiel grumbled as he went to grab a soda and move to his bed to wait.

The feisty red head arrived 15 minutes later and moved to sit down beside Cas, elbows propping her head up like a middle-school student about to hear a gossip story for the first time.

“Spill.”

“Spill what?” Castiel made sure to keep his voice even.

“You. Have. A. Crush.”

“So what if I do?” The words were out of Castiel’s mouth even before he knew what he’d said.

“I KNEW IT!” Charlie jumped once on the bed before plopping back down and resuming her position once more. “You have a crush, and SamSolves is an up and coming YouTube channel...” She pushes, trying to get Castiel to guess her next point.

“Charlie, I don’t even know him,” Castiel pauses, “I mean _them._ I don’t know them.” Castiel slowly starts taking a long sip of his soda, trying his hardest to prolong any more questions.

“Which is exactly why you should ask that they go to Orlando, dummy!”

Castiel nearly spills his drink.

“No.”

“Why not.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Because it’s awkward, Charlie. I don’t know him.”

“But your followers do, and they seem to overlap a lot,” Charlie countered.

“Charlie...” This was Castiel’s default response apparently.

“If you’re too chicken I’ll invite them. Besides, I know you didn’t really like Orlando last year. At least this year you’ll be looking forward to finding someone you like for a change.”

“For the record it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it. It was just the same time as when my family practically disowned me.” Castiel was going to add _and Anna left,_ but he could feel his throat choking up.

“So that’s a yes to the request?” Charlie had somehow managed to get a hold of Castiel’s laptop and pulled up Gilda’s email.

Castiel paused and stared at her. “You already sent the request email didn’t you...” It was more of a report than a question.

Charlie threw up air quotes, “ ‘Charlene’ may have hacked into your account and sent it before I left the house...” she beamed with victory, making it impossible for Castiel to be annoyed with her.

“I should be mad.”

“But you’re not because you love me, bestie,” Charlie winks before pulling the laptop so that Castiel could look at the monitor. He won’t get Gilda’s response until at least tomorrow at the earliest, therefore the computer now displayed the latest episode of _Doctor Who._

“Now, are you ready to review the latest episode of Series nine?”

Castiel huffs a laugh and moves to turn the lights off. His worries about possibly meeting Dean in a few weeks can wait, but for now it was time to relax and not worry about anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O-Con will be a lot like GeekyCon in terms of set up in case any of y'all were wondering :D


	7. Surprise

_Ring.... Ring.... Ring...._

_Ring.... Ring.... Ring...._

_Man I hate mornings..._ Dean groggily thinks to himself as his hand moves to the relative vicinity of his bedside table. His phone really loved playing hide and seek right now, but Dean found it after accidentally tipping it off the table and hearing a muffled * _thump_ * as the phone came in contact with the ground, forcing him to open his eyes all too early on a Saturday morning.

Slowly and after what seemed like 40 years, Dean answered the ever-ringing phone. He puts it on speaker while turning to read his clock: **6:30 AM**. _Dammit can’t these people call when I’m_ actually _awake?_

“Hello?” Dean manages to get out without sounding too harsh. Seriously, who calls before the sun is even up?

“Hello! Is this the line where I may find a Mister Sam Winchester?” a female voice answers on the other line. Dean couldn’t place who it was and immediately shifts into “overprotective brother” gear at the mention of Sammy.

“He can’t make it to the phone right now. May I ask the reason for you call, ma’am?”

“Would this then be Mister Dean Winchester? I am calling in regards to a special invitation for you and your brother to come to the Orlando Fandom convention in two weeks.”

“Wait, what?” That took a minute for Dean to process and he wasn’t sure if it was because of how early it was or if this person was really who she said she was. “Invitation? In Orlando?”

“Precisely,” came the voice on the other line, probably all too used to this type of reaction from guests. “You were requested by one of our main events and so we would very much hope you would attend as special guests.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we live in Kansas...” Dean was not fully awake to be processing this, but it sure explained the time difference, even if it was just an hour between Kansas and Florida.

“Oh, I’m sorry I never gave you my name my apologies! My name is Gilda Oz and I am one of the lead coordinators for O-Con, a fandom convention that prides itself in celebrating all things ‘Fan.’ All expenses would be paid at no cost to you or your family, of course. We very much want the ‘SamSolves’ channel to attend the event!” She sounded almost desperate, but Dean chalked that up to him not being able to comprehend words right now.

“Oh, wow that’s great then, thank you!” Sam chimes in from the entrance to Dean’s room, nearly sending Dean out of his bed upon his brother’s sudden appearance. Unfazed, Sam moves to sit at the foot of the bed, moose pajama bottoms and all. “This is Sam. I heard about the invitation and we would LOVE to come; thank you for inviting us!”

“Hello, Sam! Great! We will mark you down as an acceptance and will get in touch in a couple of days to route out flights and hotels. Both of you will be staying along with the other special guests at the Hilton that connects to the convention center. It’s pretty warm here so pack lightly with rain in mind. I will be in touch again soon!”

“Wait, Miss Oz!” Dean says before Gilda can hang up. He scrambles to sit up on his bed as he stares at his phone, brainpower now at 80% functionality. “You said we were requested by a main event, right? What does that mean?”

“You were requested by Castiel Novak after we had reached out to him about his invitation. Unfortunately I must run in order to tell our coordinators now about your acceptance. I am sure both you and Sam will enjoy the convention and I look forward to meeting you in Orlando!”

The line goes dead before Dean can get another word in on the matter. His brain had shorted out.

“Wait,” It looked like Sam was the only one that could put sentences together at the moment, “ _the_ Castiel requested _us_?” He stared at Dean, who was still wearing a faded AC/DC shirt and boxers, a look of pure astonishment on his face as he stared at his phone. “Earth to Dean...” Sam waves his hands in front of Dean’s face, effectively snapping him out of his trance.

“This isn’t real, Sam. No way,” _Man did Dean sure pick a time to be pessimistically logical,_ Sam thought.

“But it _is_ , Dean. O-Con is a real thing.”

“I’m dreaming; that’s it!” Dean half whispered to himself, not even having heard his little brother at all. Sam sighs before moving out of the room for a few minutes, giving time for Dean to reel in his thoughts and process this new development. _I don’t know Cas. Cas doesn’t know me. How in the world is this happening? It’s probably just a troll. Yeah definitely a troll. A blue-eyed troll..._

“I talked to Bobby and he says that Gilda called him yesterday saying the same thing. Apparently all of the flights are set and we’d actually be leaving on the same plane as Castiel since we’re ‘with him.’” Sam said that last part with air quotes as he came back into the room. 

“Oh shit...” Dean’s face went blank. He absolutely 100% was not okay with this.

Catching on to what Dean was thinking, Sam’s expression went from excitement to bitch face #8. “You _are_ getting on that plane, Dean.”

“Sam, you don’t understand. No way I can get on that plane.” Dean’s mind started painting nightmares scenarios that would come from Cas seeing him experience one of his biggest fears. That is definitely not the way Dean wants his and Castiel’s first meeting to go. “I _will_ hyperventilate and I _will_ freak out and Cas _will not_ want us to actually go with him.”

“You’re overthinking this, which is actually weird for you,” Sam jokes. “Talk to him beforehand if you want so that he knows you’ve accep—.”

“That’s another thing,” Dean interjects, “Why would he want us to go there? The dude lives here so why not just swing by the shop or something?” Dean wasn’t really looking at his brother. He was more rambling out loud to himself. “I mean, sure he may not technically _know_ where we live but I’m sure he’s figured it out by now from backgrounds or something. People do that, right? And it’s weird to ask for someone that you’ve never met to come with you on something. This can’t be Cas; no way. He doesn’t know me and he’ll think I’m an idiot for being scared of flying and he won’t want us to come and we’ll be left stranded in Kans—.”

“DEAN!” Sam had been yelling at Dean for two minutes now. The room returned to silence after his older brother looked at him. As much as Sam might have been annoyed with Dean in that moment, the look of pure panic in Dean’s eyes made Sam hold his tongue. “Look, Dean. Sure, there might have been a million other ways for you and ‘Cas,’ to meet., “Sam used air quotes again at the nickname. “Sure, Castiel probably doesn’t know you’re scared of flying. And sure, he probably could’ve called himself or something to give us the heads up, but these are the cards that we are dealt so now we deal with them.” Sam makes sure to keep his voice objective, trying not to spook his brother any more than possible. Honestly it was like having to calm a preteen down after a crush just texted them.

Dean listens quietly, nodding once Sam finishes. He feels his body slowly start to relax as he thinks it over. Sam’s right. Yeah, this wasn’t the way Dean had imagined meeting Cas, but he will deal with it and make the best of it. “I guess if he meets me at my worst moment there’s a lot I can build on, right?” Dean mutters mainly to himself.

“At least text him or DM him on Twitter. Do _something._ Let him know you’re happy he invited you.” Sam moves to leave Dean’s room, sleep seeming to call once more.

“He invited _us_ , Sammy.”

“Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Yes, you’re right.” If sarcasm were solid, Sam would be heaving bricks at Dean right then. Once Sam closes the door and does not return, Dean lies back onto his bed, now fully awake and with no idea what to do.

Remembering his phone, Dean grabs it and clicks on the Twitter app to where he finds Castiel’s twitter handle. His finger hovers over the DM option for 5 minutes before he pulls up the screen.

 

**@DeanWinchester: Hi Cas this is Dean. Someone called saying u had requested us 4 a convention in Orlando so I just wanna say thanks for inviting me**

He hits send before realizing he had forgotten his little brother had been invited, too.

 

**@DeanWinchester: I mean Sammy and me. He’s really excited 4 it. All he talks about**

_Stupid, Winchester,_ Dean frowns at his screen. _I should stop typing_... He moves to place his phones back on his desk and attempt to go back to sleep when it pings, stopping Dean’s already rapidly heart cold.

 

**@CastielNovak: Hello, Dean.**

**@CastielNovak: I am thrilled you’ve accepted the invitation. I look forward to meeting you in Orlando :)**

Dean lets out a breath he had not realized he had been holding. So this really had been Cas asking. That still didn’t stop the fear growing at the thought of flying in a metal bird of death while Cas watched. “I look forward to... Wait, what?” Dean reads allowed and begins typing a response automatically.

 

**@DeanWinchester: Wait so you’re not flying with us?**

The response was almost immediate:

 

**@CastielNovak: Uh, why would I be flying with you exactly?**

**@DeanWinchester: Oh, right u don’t know that Sam and I live in Lebanon, too. (:**

Dean stared blankly at his phone screen as he waited for a reply. After 5 minutes of silence his mind started to panic. _Should I have said that? Wait, why am I even freaking out?_

**@CastielNovak: Oh, wow small world! I guess I will be flying with you and your brother then. Thank you for telling me that, Dean.**

**@DeanWinchester: Yea no worries. Figured u knew from looking at backgrounds or something srry**

**@CastielNovak: That would probably make me sound like a stalker if that were the case...**

**@CastielNovak: In hindsight I probably should have reached out to you about this before they called, huh? I’m sorry about that but my friend was the one that kind of started that without much of my input.**

Dean’s heart fell.

 

**@DeanWinchester: So you didn’t want us to go then? This was just something your friend put you up to?**

**@DeanWinchester: I mean, I can call the lady and tell her if you don’t want us there...**

**~**

_Oh shit,_ Castiel cursed as he realized what he had accidentally insinuated. He had been editing all through the night and so was startled awake via the sudden rush of adrenaline when he read @DeanWinchester in his notifications list. After a few tries and retyping words Castiel’s lack of sleep must have started catching up to him.

 

**@CastielNovak: Wait, no that’s not what I meant. Please don’t do that.**

 

Castiel typed furiously, trying his hardest to explain the entire situation to Dean without completely messing up their first ever form of communication. He’d been floored when Dean had said he lived in Kansas, so much so that it took Castiel a couple of minutes of searching through some of Dean’s vines to recognize Lebanon High School in some of the backgrounds after Dean had mentioned them. Why he hadn’t noticed sooner was beyond Castiel.

Squinting at the screen in the dim light of the bunker, Castiel told Dean about Charlie and how she had helped him make up his mind to ask for Sam and Dean to be invited.

After a couple of minutes of static form Dean’s end, he responded:

 

**@DeanWinchester: Oh.**

**@DeanWinchester: Sounds like Charlie is looking out for us. Well thanks for inviting us still. I just wanted to tell you that before the plane ride**

**@CastielNovak: Of course. Thank you for accepting.**

**@DeanWinchester: I do have to tell u tho. I’m not the best when it comes to flying just a heads up**

Castiel chuckled. _Dean Winchester scared of flying?_ He didn’t seem like the type to be scared of anything.

 

**@CastielNovak: You’ll forget you’re flying after a while don’t worry. You’ll have Sam and me there if that helps with your anxiety.**

**@CastielNovak: I guess I will see you in a couple of weeks?**

Castiel didn’t know why he felt his chest tighten up while talking to Dean. It had started after reading Dean’s nickname for him and only grew as the conversation continued. _If Gabriel read this conversation he’d be making googly eyes or something,_ he thought to himself as he waited for Dean’s response.

 

**@DeanWinchester: Yeah hopefully the plane ride won’t kill me but no promises... See ya soon ;)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I actually planned this out now this was my internal thought process for this chapter:
> 
> "Wait, Kansas and Florida are states apart...  
> Wait, Dean won't be reasonably able to drive that far  
> WAIT they'll have to fly  
> WAIT DEAN'S SCARED OF PLANES  
> ARGH  
> *Writes chapter*  
> The end"


	8. Flights of Wonder

**“** No, Dean, you’re not gonna stab him in the chest.”

Sam was just about done with Dean’s hypothetical scenarios as they waited in the airport terminal for their flight to Orlando. Ever since Dean suddenly came to school with a goofy smile on his face and told Sam that Castiel actually _had_ invited them for real, it’s been one crazy-train story after another with his older brother. Bobby had dropped them off at their gate and they were waiting for the famous YouTuber to finally show up and make Dean’s ever growing crack-scenarios stop.

“But what if he has a camera and is filming us, though?” Dean continues, not even missing a beat after Sam’s last comment. “And then he trips or something and falls flat on my suitcase handle. The thing’s already half broken so, I mean it could easi—“

“One more word and I swear to God _I_ will start filming you and tag Castiel in the post for _him_ to see.” Sam barely whispers at his brother sitting opposite him in the black terminal seating area. Dean knew that when Sammy threatened, he does _not_ joke around. He shut his trap mid sentence and let his mind work out the rest of his nightmares about Cas and his first official meeting.

They’d gotten to talking more and more within the time span before the flight, with Castiel telling Dean about what he should expect from the people that run the event and how the fans are. This wasn’t just a daily thing, though. It was a midnight “I forgot to tell you something else” thing. Dean found himself waking up and falling asleep to a tweet from the blue-eyed boy, who now Dean knew was named after an angel. Once he was fed up with the 140-character limit on Twitter, they exchanged numbers and started texting each other, neither working up the courage to actually call the other.

Dean stared at his phone debating that very same dilemma when Sam piped up after 10 minutes of silence.

“You said he was with a red-headed girl, right?”

Dean nodded, wary of opening his mouth when his brain couldn’t form coherent thoughts apart from, _Why the hell am I this nervous, dammit?_ whichwas pretty much the only thing going through his head that made any logical sense.

“Well then I think I see them.” Sam points to an area behind Dean’s shoulder.

Dean coudln’t make his muscles turn around. _Moment of truth. Breathe, Winchester, breathe. You’re the cool kid, remember? What are you so damn nervous about?_

He did not let his brain answer him.

“Is that Sam? SAM!” A bright voice echoed down the terminal hall, startling some nearby kids that had fallen asleep. Sam grinned at his name and got out of his seat, forcing Dean to finally man up and just around.

His eyes traveled to the redhead first, because honestly her hair was the focal point in such a muted terminal setting. She was running up to Sam and sported a _Star Wars_ shirt and dark jeans.

“Hi. You must be Charlie!” Sam chokes out from the sudden impact of Charlie’s attack hug. Dean immediately bursts out laughing; his nerves diminished upon seeing the bubbly red head attack his brother. Dean was definitely going to like having Charlie around.

“Don’t mind Charlie. She gets really excited when she meets new people.”

Dean nearly jumped 50 feet into the air from the sudden sound that came from behind him.

That voice.

It was _him._

Hiding his sudden shock as best as he could, Dean turned around to finally meet those blue eyes in person.

Castiel wore a blue oversized hoodie with thick-rimmed glasses and the hood up, covering what seemed to be an untamed forest of dark brown hair on his head. He was sporting a black angel wing necklace that went over his hoodie and Adidas sneakers that tucked into his dark jeans. Castiel dressed as best he could so as to not be recognized, but that was not what Dean was looking at when he turned around.

No, his eyes zeroed in on how celestial Cas’s eyes crinkled in concern as they started back at Dean. He was close enough that he could see his silhouette tinted in blue, but not close enough to see each individual shade of Castiel’s pupils.

“Sorry, I have a reputation for my ninja-like appearances,” Castiel apologized and raised a hand to the back of his head. His voice sang into Dean’s eardrums. It was one thing to watch a video of somebody’s voice, but it was a whole ‘nother story when the real deal was standing right there being adorable.

 _I will never say that out loud ever,_ Dean thought as he tried to get his brain to work. Castiel was here and Dean had yet to say a word. _Play it smooth_...

“Wha-? No it’s fine, man. I just hadn’t seen you before.” Real _smooth there, idiot_.

The blue-eyed boy seemed content with the answer nevertheless. “Well, then it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Dean Winchester.” He held out his hand, which Dean took to shake probably a little too quickly. Castiel’s hand was smaller than his, but smoother to the touch. Dean immediately felt its absence when he let go at the sound of the plane hostesses calling for boarding to begin. Castiel must have seen Dean’s face by the way his ears were suddenly turning pink. Or it could have been Dean’s imagination.

“Dean, why don’t you sit with Castiel and I’ll sit with Charlie?” Sam piped in, breaking Dean’s indecisive moment of whether or not he should try to hold Cas’s and again.

“What?” Dean responded quickly after Castiel greeted Sam and Charlie gave Dean a hug.

“Well, the rows are only two-seaters, so I figured why not let you two get to know each other while I play video games with Sam here?” Charlie made a jab at Sam’s ribs, earning a smile from the younger Winchester. What Dean didn’t know is that while Cas and he were talking, Charlie and Sam had filled the other in on Cas and Dean’s mutual crush, resulting in the “cleverly constructed plan,” as Charlie put it, of having them sit next to each other on the plane.

“I don’t see why not,” Castiel replied and turned to Dean. “Unless you’d rather sit next to your brother?”

“N-no that’s fine! Yeah that’s okay. I’m cool with that, yeah.”  Dean was fully aware that he was babbling out of nerves at this point, but his body language must have given him away because both Charlie and Castiel were giving him concerned looks.

Sam came in for the “rescue” and turned to Castiel. “He’s just scared of flying, is all. But I’m sure you can help him better than I can.” Not the rescue Dean had in mind.

“I’m not scared of flying, Sammy.” Everyone in the terminal probably heard how high Dean’s voice got at that moment. “I just have this problem with altitude,” he finished lamely.

Cas chuckled but said nothing. He merely nodded before motioning that they make their way onto the first class section of the plane. Grabbing all of their belongings the four of them climbed in and headed for the winged deathtrap in the sky.

 

~

 

Castiel had had many experiences with meeting new people and fans at both conventions and at the super market. They would always be somewhat nervous or act a little differently around him before asking if he’d sign something or take a picture. He would always talk to the other person and gladly sign or take a picture with them, happy that he made someone else’s day and that he got to talk to new people. With this mindset, Castiel figured that meeting Dean Winchester would be similar to meeting a fan or fellow YouTuber at a convection.

Castiel stared into a sea of freckles and green, utterly lost in wonder as to just how many could possibly be on one person’s face. Dean had dressed in comfortable attire with a zipped up jacket, track pants and Nike sneakers, but all Castiel could see was green speckles dancing as they darted from one place to the next, most likely doing the exact same thing that Castiel’s eyes were doing: taking in as much of the other as possible.

After the conversation in the terminal they had finally found their seats in first class, Dean taking the window seat and Castiel the aisle. Charlie and Sam were just behind them already deep in conversation about _Game of Thrones_. Once situated, Castiel turned to his plan-mate and was startled to find that Dean was as stiff as a board, looking out the window with a concealed look of fright deeply etched into his face.

“Think of it like driving in the sky. It helps a little.” Cas says, effectively drawing the green eyes his way.

“Yeah... That kinda helps, in a way,” Dean was still tense, but at least he didn’t look mortified at being on a plane anymore.

“Did you bring headphones or anything? Music will help you pass the time.”

“I kind of forgot them at home, but I think I’ll survive four days without them.” Dean didn’t sound too convincing, but Cas attributed that to nerves. He dug a headphone splitter out of his backpack along with two pairs of headphones. Charlie always forgot hers whenever they went on any trips, so Cas had made it a habit to pack two. He offered one to Dean who gratefully accepted it. Their hands brushed and then collided into one another as they both felt the plane jolt to life and detach from the terminal.

“It’s gonna be okay, okay?” Castiel squeezed Dean’s hand briefly, not wanting to make the other boy feel any more uncomfortable than he already was. He figured he had imagined Dean’s sad face when Cas had let go of his hand in the terminal, which only led to Cas imagining what it would be like to hold Dean’s hand for longer than to just say hello. That situation had been getting more and more awkward as time went on, so Cas tried not to dwell on Dean’s slightly rougher hands.

“Okay,” was all Dean said as he stared at his hand, not having moved from where Cas had let go.

“What do you want to listen to?” Castiel flipped through his phone, waiting for Dean to say something. Anything.

“Do you by chance have Metallica maybe?” Dean sounded beyond nervous. _He wasn’t kidding when he said he was scared of flying..._

“You bet I do,” Cas beamed. Cas himself loved all types of music; therefore his musical library was full of pretty much everything from rock to Broadway songs. He had a soft spot for classic rock, though, but he only ever told Anna that because his father loathed it with a passion. Cas played “Some Kind of Monster” as the plane finally made it to the runway. He set the music more as background noise so that Dean and he could still talk. That is, if Dean was able to. Right now he had his eyes screwed shut.

For whatever reason Castiel half-grinned at Dean’s tense demeanor. The first time meeting someone and it turns out it’s during one of their worst eternal nightmares. Just his luck...

The plane picked up speed and Castiel could feel his ears pop from the pressure as it took off. He looked over at Dean and saw that the green eyes had been permanently shut in their cage during the ascent to cruising altitude. Without thinking, Cas set a hand on Dean’s left shoulder and began massaging at the tense muscle that he felt beneath the jacket.

The change in Dean was almost instantaneous as his eyelids were no longer scrunched up in fear. His body began to relax as Metallica continued to play into their heads. Dean was not going to be talking any time soon, this much Castiel gathered; so he made sure the songs were on a playlist before he continued rolling circles into Dean’s shoulder, calming the eldest Winchester down as best as he could.

Dean didn’t seem to mind Castiel’s hand, so he left it there and looked at the crook in between Dean and his seats to see how Sam and Charlie were after about an hour in to the flight.

Sam at this point had fallen asleep on Charlie’s shoulder as they were staring at a DVD screen. Charlie looked up in time to meet Castiel’s gaze and winked as he pointed at his hand on Dean’s shoulder. Cas stuck his tongue out briefly before sitting back into his seat and stretching his arms out, requiring that he lift his hand up and away from the other boy’s shoulder.

“Cas?” Dean had slightly dozed off since the flight had gone without much incident.

“I’m here, Dean.” Cas shot him a small smile as he finished stretching and placed his hands on the arm rests. Hearing Dean’s nickname for him in reality was quite different than just reading it on his phone, for sure.

“Oh okay I must’ve dozed off. Sorry.”

Cas laughed. “You don’t have to apologize, Dean. I’m just happy you’re not as terrified anymore.

Dean’s eyes crinkled as he smiled and moved to stretch out his arms and legs. One of the pros to being in first class was that there is legroom, so this was easily satisfied.

It was at that moment that the plane decided to hit an air pocket.

The turbulence rocketed through the plane quickly and briskly, catching may people off guard in other seats.

Before Cas could react he felt a sudden and swift pressure on his hand as Dean clasp both it and the arm rest, knuckles white from the sudden plane movement.

“C’mon, man! That is _not_ normal!” Dean’s eyes darted all around the cabin, as if trying to find the demon making all of the mess.

Castiel couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing, tears already threatening to spill over. Of all things, the green-eyed boy was absolutely _terrified_ of flying.

“Just listen to the song, Dean. It’ll be over before you know it.” Cas repositioned his hand so that his thumb stuck out from between Dean’s death grip and the arm rest, allowing for him to continue rolling small circles into Dean’s skin.

They must have hit a stray shower since the sudden movements lastd for about 20 minutes. All that time Cas’s hand was held captive by Dean’s hyperventilation. Not that either was complaining.

“Sorry about that, ladies and gents!” A voice chimes over the loud speaker after the turbulence died down. “Florida is known for it’s unpredictable weather, but we will be landing in a few minutes.”

“Dean, it’s all right now,” Cas wiggles his now numb hand out of Dean’s grip.

“Mhmm,” was all Dean could muster until the plane officially landed in not so sunny Orlando, Florida.

 

~

 

They disembarked quickly and were on their way to retrieve the rest of their luggage when Dean heard the sheer amount of noise coming from the common areas in the Orlando airport.

“What’s that sound?” Sam heard as they neared the entrance to the baggage claim area. Just as they took the escalators down Dean saw the wave of fans waiting behind a security guard detail.

“Uh, Cas?” Dean turned to the YouTuber. They hadn’t gotten a chance to talk about the flight or Dean’s stupidity at practically wrestling for Castiel’s hand. He wasn’t about to talk about that in front of Sam, either, and now by the looks of the crowd it looked to Dean like he was never gonna be alone with the guy at all.

“Yeah... I think you all should take the bus without me.” Castiel said just as they came into view of those nearest to them, producing a volume amplification that Dean did not think was possible (or legal for that matter) in an airport.

“You sure?” Dean asked as he began to read the signs that some of the fans had made. Some had Dean’s name on them (something Dean was absolutely not expecting), but the majority was for Cas and Cas alone.

“Yeah, and besides we have a long day tomorrow everything what with the start of the con and getting checked in. You all go ahead I’ll see you tomorrow.” Castiel handed his bags to a nearby security guard that had run up to them when they stepped off the escalators. He shot both the guard and some of the fans a small smile before Charlie proceeded to hug him in goodbye.

“I’ll get these two to the hotel safe and sound, Commander. You do the same, okay?”

“I will, Charlie,” Cas hugged her hard before he gave both Winchesters a group bear hug, also something Dean was not expecting.

“Talk to you tomorrow?” Castiel asked Dean once Sam had moved away to get a camera out. He was a little _too_ close, but Dean was probably still too pumped with fear-induced adrenaline to contemplate that at the moment.

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Dean maintained eye contact until Cas turned away and started walking toward the mob of fans, who only seemed to get louder after having witnessed the exchange of goodbyes. _This will definitely go online tonight,_ Dean thought to himself.

Charlie brought them to the hotel that connected to the convention center where the brothers checked into their room for the weekend. It was directly beside Castiel’s and even had a connecting door, meaning Dean did hear the sound of the other door closing shut to signify that Cas had gotten back okay. With that thought satisfied, Dean stared at the ceiling of the suite.

_Tomorrow is opening ceremonies and the convention. What a day today was, and it’s only just beginning._


	9. Fixer Upper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of right now this is one of my favorite chapters eh he he...

“All right you’re all set. Here you go!”

A receptionist handed Sam and Dean a purple identification pass reading “SPECIAL GUEST” as well as an itinerary of the O-Con events and panels. It had been a very busy morning that started with Charlie banging on the brothers’ door telling them to get their butts out of bed and down to the convention center. Cas had apparently been called out earlier so as to beat the fans that the brothers had passed on their way in. Cut to around two or twenty (Dean lost count due in part to the fact of him not being full awake yet) ninja-style golf cart rides behind the scenes of the event, and now Sam and Dean were hiding behind curtains so as to not cause an uproar from the fan registration area before the event officially starts.

“Where are we meeting Cas?” Dean asks the receptionist.

“Castiel and some other special guests are currently in rehearsals for today’s opening ceremonies soon. They should be in the back of the main stage.” She replies as chipper as she can be at such an early morning time. Apparently Floridians didn’t like mornings...

“We can go find that, thank you, ma’am,” Sam chimes in before Dean can comment on the lady’s need for sleep. Sam hadn’t stopped moving since he woke up this morning, making sure all of the equipment was charged and all of the SD cards were empty and ready. Currently he had his camera poised for recording and his eyes on the viewfinder, angling it just enough to get Dean into view.

Dean mimicked a shrug as best as he could and placed a smile on his face. “Sammy here wants to record this entire experience, even the parts that are flat our hysterically boring.”

“It’s not _that_ boring, bro,” Sam shot back, already turning towards the direction of the backstage area leading to what Dean assumed was the main stage.

Dean shot Sam’s back a glare that normally would have made the younger Winchester laugh before he followed his brother to wherever the hell they were going.

As they were walking Dean looks down and stares at the carefully carved letters of his name on his lanyard badge. They had made the brothers write their social media handles on their badges as part of the ID process, and so as a result there were multiple iterations of the same two words that Dean called his name scrawled in cramped lettering around the edges.  

Sure, Dean had been invited to a couple of conventions in Kansas, but he’d never imagined he had any followers outside of Lebanon. Every once in a while now when Dean went out to a space where the awaiting fans outside to see him he couldn’t understand the sudden rise in volume until Sam commented that they should probably stay _away_ from the curtains that were their disguises from the world. “They’re there for a reason, idiot.”) His sudden nerves from being out of Kansas on top of the fact that he had acted like an absolute _fool_ in front of Castiel the day before only served to keep Dean’s stomach in perpetual knots.

“Hey, Dean?” Sam stops, turning the camera backwards to face both him and his brother.

“Hmm?” Dean lingers on his badge a little longer before looking up at his little brother.

“So get this...” Sam paused. “Turns out the opening ceremonies are in, like, ten minutes, and I’m pretty sure we took a wrong turn somewhere...”

Dean stared at his brother for a few seconds, the gears turning in his head as he realized that Sam Winchester, the brainchild of the GPS and a computer, had gotten lost in a convention center. Without uttering a single word since Sam was still pointing the camera at him, Dean scans the empty backstage area they were in until his eyes land on one of the convention direction posters.

“Main Stage is in Concord A, dummy.” Dean surveys the rest of the room until he finds the sign he was looking for. “We’re in Concord D.”

“Well... That explains a lot...” Sam lowered his head sheepishly.

Immediately Dean caught on. “Is little Sammy nervous about his first big convention?” Playing to the camera, Dean flashed an exaggerated pout with each word.

Sam shut the camera off and shot his brother Bitch Face #2.

“Jerk.”

“Bitch,” Dean chuckled and ruffled up Sam’s untamed lion mane of hair. “Now let’s get to Main Stage before we miss all the fun, huh?”

 

~

 

“Places, people! PLACES!”

Castiel watched in amusement as O-Con coordinators and volunteers scurried from left to right trying to get everything ready for the Opening Ceremonies in 5 minutes. The crowd was already outside and in their seats, which resulted in Castiel and the others to rehearse the last five minutes of their reimagined, very un-Disney, _Frozen_ opening play backstage.

“Where is our ‘Anna?!’ ROWENA WHERE ARE YOU?!?!”  Gilda Oz discreetly screamed into her walkie-talkie. Cas noted that she was trying her hardest to look as if she was absolutely not about to have a break down. It wasn’t working too well...

“Uh oh. Looks like trouble in paradise,” Charlie walked up to where Cas had been reading his lines and trying to enjoy the chaos.

“Yeah, but I’m sure she’ll reappear before she’s called on stage,” Cas replied absentmindedly. When he’d heard they were doing _Frozen_ his mind immediately jumped to the real Anna he’d often make fun of the movie with. Hearing her name again now dampened his mood, but he figured it would have anyway. _Frozen was such a big thing in fandom right now so of course this would be the opening we’d do. Anna would’ve gotten such a kick out of this..._

“You. Are. Not.” Charlie emphasized each word once she pieced together who Castiel was thinking about. “This year is about new memories, okay? Do NOT start thinking about her like that. Instead, focus on how you’re Kristoff and _your_ Anna is happy and has freckles and green eyes and is extremely too adorable for his own well being, _okay_?”

“Yeah, I guess yo— wait, what?” Castiel replayed what Charlie had said in his head. Uh, _Rowena is_ nothing _like that? Wait..._

“Oh, you know what I mean,” Charlie winked before patting him in goodbye, her own lines to worry about in hand.

Dumbstruck, Castiel looked around the room at each of his fellow special guests. Just then he saw the increasingly familiar silhouettes of Sam and Dean walking into his field of vision.

Making eye contact, Cas flashed them a grin before he heard the familiar sounds of the volunteers singing to “Shut Up and Dance,” the unofficial opening ceremonies pre-game show.

“ROWENA WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU WITCH,” Gilda’s voice echoed loudly through all of the coordinator’s walkie-talkies. “Ugh, KC, you take point and try to cover it up during the play.” She spoke to someone just out of Castiel’s vision.

“KC must be another guest I haven’t met _,_ ”Cas wondered aloud. One thing he never got tired of was meeting fellow YouTubers at conventions, after all.

Gilda rounded all of the actors up just as the last few bars of the volunteers’ song were ending. “Okay! Well, we thank you very much for agreeing to be here for the fans and to celebrate fandom! I hope you all have amazing times and thank you for helping us kick off the show!” She was trying to hide her growing panic at the misplaced guest, but Castiel knew that Rowena usually appeared and disappeared regularly. She would show up at the right time, but not any sooner and not any later.

“Psst.” A voice sounded just out of Castiel’s eyesight. He turned to find Sam and Dean standing by the stage stairs just behind where fans could see them. Castiel had figured that they weren’t in the show itself, but his heart still warmed at the thought of his new friends supporting him just off stage.”

Making his way over to the brothers, Castiel saw that Sam was holding a somewhat beat-up camera in his direction. “I see you’re vlogging this con, too?” He asked the younger Winchester. Castiel had started his this morning with the rehearsals.

Sam nodded vigorously, the shock of being at a convention not fully settled yet, Cas figured.

“Well, uh. Good luck out there,” Cas turned to face the owner of the voice. Dean looked pretty nervous himself, but Cas just chalked that up to them not really knowing each other in person and Castiel’s knack at overanalyzing pretty much everything.

Castiel gave him a comforting smile, not sure why he was trying to make Dean feel better when it was himself that was about to perform. _Again with the overanalyzing..._ “We’ll see how it goes. We’re doing _Frozen_.”

“Oh,” was all Dean said. Castiel could see the gears turning in his head, though he wasn’t sure what the gears were turning for. Letting it be, Castiel heard the opening chords go off, signaling the start of the play.

“Gotta run!” He gave them each a reassuring wave before jumping out in front of the 4 thousand people that crowded the main stage seats.

 

~

 

Dean had been to rock concerts and music festivals. The concept of his eardrums nearly exploding from music was not new to him.

The amount of sound upon the appearance of Cas on stage, however, was enough to make Dean cover his ears as tightly as he could. He never knew people had the ability to just _scream_ that loud.

After a few twists and turns, Dean had found the Main Stage area in time to immediately find the blue-eyed boy talking to Charlie. His face had seemed slightly down but was quickly changed due to whatever it was that Charlie was angrily telling him. It was once Cas had said that they were doing _Frozen_ that Dean finally understood. ‘ _Frozen has Anna. Shit, why did they have to do_ that _play?’_

Cas didn’t seem to have realized that Dean knew, which meant that Cas thought he probably didn’t know that Dean had watched Cas’s videos. Dean didn’t get the chance to say anything more before Cas waved them goodbye and inadvertently started the scream heard ‘round the world, nearly ripping Dean’s eardrums out of his body in the process.

“I will never underestimate screaming fans ever again,” Sam screamed over the racket. Dean could only nod in agreement, forcing as much energy as he could into trying to preserve his hearing.

His ears started to adjust about halfway through the play, which had been adapted as a result of a missing Anna. How they were going to finish it, Dean was waiting to see. They’d reached the point of the movie where Anna would have been left for dead by Hans at the fireplace, only that had been formatted to a red-head disappearing and never returning after kissing Hans on the cheek.

“WHERE IS SHE!?” The girl playing Elsa screamed at Cas, who at this point, Dean figured out, was playing Kristoff. Dean turned away from the action on stage to see the chaos that was currently going on backstage. Apparently the girl that was supposed to play Anna showed up for the first twenty minutes and then disappeared right when she was needed the most. Now. _Uh oh..._ Dean thought.

“I’ll tell you where she is, darling,” came a voice on stage. Dean turned to see a boy in a full-blown tuxedo and holding a white rose. KC, they had called him backstage.

“WHERE is she, Hans?” Elsa cried (way too) loudly. (But that was Dean’s opinion)

“Did you save her?,” Cas continued, clearly the better actor. (But that was Dean’s opinion)

KC didn’t look at Elsa when he delivered his next line. No, his attention was directly focused on Castiel as he spoke.

“Anna is _never_ coming back. She was a _rebel_ and a _skank_ and _she deserved to die by her own hand_.” KC spat each word out, as if they were daggers aiming straight for the blue-eyed boy.

Dean’s blood ran cold as the realization set it.

It wasn’t _Frozen_ Anna. KC was talking about Castiel’s sister.

 

 

The entire room remained silent for what seemed like eons, the majority knowing exactly what had transpired and just exactly whom “Hans” had referenced.

Dean gripped the stair ramp, searching Castiel’s face for any sign of reaction to that demon KC’s words.

Castiel was absolutely taken off guard, not expecting such a blatant reaction during the show. He didn’t even look like he was breathing anymore, let alone moving. He had shut himself down temporarily to process. The only movement that indicated Castiel was even remotely there was Cas’s eyes widening ever so slightly. Dean couldn’t take it anymore.

“SON OF A BITCH,” Dean screamed as he stared at KC on stage. Due to the sudden silence from the audience it was as if Dean himself had a microphone and was on stage by the sound of his voice traveling through the concord.

The backstage coordinators seemed to jump into action right then and went straight for Dean.

“Get UP there!” One called as she handed him a script and mic. “Help us!”

“Wha-what? OOF!” Dean grunts as he is shoved up the last few steps of the stage. He trips and collides with the floor just in view of the audience, producing the equivalent to a much-needed icebreaker after such a tense moment. As if by magic, the scene unfreezes.

“Oh my GOD, are you OKAY?” Elsa was the first to act and scurries over to Dean just as he is picking himself up, microphone still somehow magically in his hand and script in the other.

Seeing as to how this is probably—no, DEFINITELLY—not what the script had originally called for, Dean scrapped it. _Okay, Winchester. This is like a ‘Benny Bite.’ Think, Dean, what will break the ice????_

“I am FINE, sister!” He starts as he half turns to the audience while still on the ground. _THINK! THINK! THINK—_

“It is I! An—I mean, Arno!” He grabs Elsa’s outstretched hand as he hoists himself upright completely.

The crowd accepts this sudden change of events straightaway and bursts out into applause. Dean lets them applaud for a while as he thinks of his next “lines.”

His first thought turned into spite as he addressed the demon that was KC. “You thought I was gone, but YOU. WERE. WRONG. HANS.” Dean points angrily at the actor. “I merely tricked you into thinking I was dead in order to buy myself time to become who I was meant to be!” Dean marches to where KC stands and was pleased to see the other boy slightly retract upon his approach. _“You were just too afraid to tell the world about how you did it with me at the fireplace.”_

That did it.

KC was barely able to say another word before the audience booed him off the stage. “That is now what I mea— I mean no, stop!”

“ ** _BEGONE_**!” Castiel’s voice echoed menacingly through the mic. It was the first time he had said anything throughout the entire ordeal.

The entire room applauded again as KC abruptly exited the stage, now convinced that this was probably written from the start and was part of the play. How were they supposed to know, after all? They only really saw half of the story.

“Ca—Kristoff?” Dean speaks, his voice barely registering on the microphone. “Are you okay?”

“I will be all right,” Cas responded somewhat flatly. The audience couldn’t see it, but Dean could just make out the shine of tears being fought back in Castiel’s eyes. _Think, Dean, THINK._

“ELSA!” Dean whips to the actress who, at this point, was completely lost as to what to do next. Upon the mention of her character name, she reverts back into “overdramatic actress mode” and sprints up to Dean.

“You’re ALIVE, ARNO!” She sings as she pulls Dean in for a tight hug. Dean plays along and twirls her around in a circle, drawing a couple of “awws” from the audience. “I thought you were GONE forEVER!”

“Nah, sistah,” Dean acts, flicking his wrist nonchalantly. _Damn, I should be an actor..._ “That Hans was just a dick and I don’t need that kind of negatively in my life.”

Without the microphone in his hand, Dean quickly whispers into the Elsa’s ear. “We need to wrap this up. I think Cas needs to get out, like, _yesterday_.”

The girl quickly understood and sported a determined look on her face. She turned to the audience, “I KNEW an act of true LOVE would FIND it’s way to you, and I’d KNEW you’d see through Hans just wanting to get in your PANTS.” She shot Dean a wink as the audience laughed, something Dean wasn’t sure was part of her act or not. Regardless, she continued, “But now you’ve seen the light and who was there ALL along!” She moves to grab Castiel’s hand and bring him to center stage next to Dean.

From off stage, the actors playing the trolls roll up and center themselves around Dean and Cas, singing loosely to the tune of “Fixer Upper”.

“ _While you’re a bit of a fixer-upper/it’s time to end the show!”_

_“We got that mean man there the hell out of the way/ and now it’s time for us to go!”_

“Well, what do you say, Kristoff? Arno is still REALLY beautiful!” Elsa jabs at Cas, causing Dean to turn pink.

The trolls stop briefly, waiting for Kristoff to say his lines.

“Uh, ye—yeah” Cas sputters, regaining some of his composure back. “Even though we’ve only known each other for a day, you’re there for me,” Cas gives Dean a small smile, his face seeming to get redder, but Dean figured that was just due to the lighting of the stage. The words matched the play, so he wouldn’t let his mind think about that.

That didn’t stop the fans, though, as a wave of “AWWWWWWWWWW” was distinctly heard while the music died down.

“A plot twist with a happy ending! But this is only the beginning! Why? Because this is O-CON!!!!” The trolls finished enthusiastically, jazz hands and all. Dean tried his hardest not to burst out laughing at the entire production of it all. Instead he turned to Cas, who had apparently not taken his eyes off of Dean.

The blue-eyed boy had tears falling discretely from his eyes and was slightly shaking, either from the boom of the music or what had just transpired.

Dean didn’t think, he just did. He moved to grab Cas’s free hand and squeezed it reassuringly, trying to communicate to him that he didn’t have to talk about it if he didn’t want to. _It’s okay, Cas_ ; _You’re okay._

Completely forgetting the fact that he was on stage in front of 4 thousand people, Dean’s ears blew anew from the sheer amount of noise that rose upon the sight of his movement.

Freezing simultaneously, both Dean and Cas were grateful at the lights dimmed to black, letting privacy somewhat return to what should have been a _very_ exclusive moment. (But that was Dean’s _hopeful_ opinion)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst and Fluff. Agh. Now we're chugging along >:D


	10. O-Con

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter this time! :D The all encompassing O-Con 
> 
> Also we hit 20k words! That's inSANE.

Cas didn’t know what to make of Dean.

           

She was a _rebel_ and a _skank_ and _she deserved to die by her own hand_...

KC’s words echoed in Castiel’s mind for hours after the ordeal that was opening ceremonies. Sure, he’d expect something about Anna to come up at this convention, but he sure as hell was not expecting _that._ His brain shut down. Instantly memories flooded back of arguments, the dorm floor, her face... _No. No. NO._

His world was collapsing into itself, and then...

“SON OF A BITCH!”

Two minutes later Dean Winchester flops down on the stage floor and somehow jolts Castiel’s far away from the hell of last year.

Now in the cover of darkness all Castiel can think about is the weight of Dean’s hand in his own, a sign of comfort and safety wrapped in the fingers of a friend. Castiel was going to be okay.

Dean didn’t pressure him when they got off stage. He didn’t even mention it. Gilda, on the other hand, didn’t understand such human manners.

"Castiel I am SO terribly sorry!” She frantically looked at him up and down, eyes darting every which way for signs of distress. Castiel figured he had started crying, but he’d built up his ability to conceal his emotions enough so that it wasn’t noticeable to an untrained eye.

“It’s all right, Ms. Oz, the play turned out well.” His voice sounded foreign to him, but it was his mechanism when he shut down so completely like that. He’d forget everything around him, block it out.

“If it’s all the same, Ms. Oz,” Dean interjected, still by Castiel’s side though no longer holding his hand, “I think it’s time Cas got ready for his panel or something.” Cas knew that Dean had been staring at him out of his peripheral vision, but Dean didn’t say anything else regarding Opening.

“Y-Yes, I suppose so, Dean.” Gilda looked at Castiel with a worried pout. “We can move the schedule around for you, if you’d like? Whatever makes you feel comfortable...”

“No there’s no need for that,” Castiel caringly waved her off. “I don’t want to screw with such a carefully constructed timetable. My first panel isn’t until three. I will be okay.” He didn’t convince himself, but he threw in a comforting smile for Gilda. The last thing Cas wanted to be was a bother to anyone about this.

“Okay, but if you need _anything_ know that we are here for you. The special guest area is on the second floor.”

Cas nodded before turning to Sam and Dean, the latter of which had a look of mild shock on his face.

“What? Do I still have that bad makeup on me?” Castiel tried to lighten the mood.

“N-nothing, Cas. Let’s go find us some food.” Dean lingered on Castiel’s eyes before turning and guiding the trio to the VIP area. Castiel noticed he had his Nike shoes on from the flight and smirked, his mood already lightening slightly.

“Dean.”

“Hmmm?” Dean angled his head to Castiel’s voice, not quite turning around as they walked through the corridors that were backstage.

“Thank you.”

Dean didn’t respond. He merely shrugged as if it weren’t a major deal.

“Dean,” Castiel tugged at the elder Winchester’s shoulder, prompting him to turn around.

“Anyone would’ve done it, buddy. I just happened to be closest.”

Castiel stared at the boy, utterly lost as to how in such a short amount of time he’d grown to consider Dean his best friend. Dean was wrong; no one else would have done it. “Still, thank you.”

Dean stared back, though Castiel was unsure of how to read his face.

After what seemed like hours of a constant battle in both boys’ heads, Sam piped up.

“Hey guys? So turns out Dean has a Vine panel in, like, eight minutes?”

Both boys turn towards the camera that Sam was still holding. _How long has that been on?_ Castiel wonders.

“Where?” Dean’s asks, staring more at his brother than at the camera.

“Second Floor, 221-B.”

“You guys run ahead. I’m gonna go find the food.” Castiel says as he begins to move towards the exit at the end of the hallway. “I’ll see you both in a bit.”

“You sure?” Dean’s voice shook. Castiel’s mind jumped to the thought of this being Dean’s first real convention and probably his first panel with other Viners. _He’s nervous..._

“You’ll be fine, Dean, I’m sure of it. Besides, you’ve got a lot to talk about so I’m sure there will be a ton of questions,” Feeling slightly courageous himself, Castiel shot Dean a small wink, though from his idea it probably looked more like a twitch in his eye.

Regardless, Dean reacted as he stiffened, his face reddening ever so slightly. Before either could say another word Dean nodded and practically carried his brother in the opposite direction towards what Castiel would assume was 221-B.

Castiel didn’t know what to make of Dean, but so far it’s a start.

 

~

 

“So what was that _thing_ up there on stage?”

Dean was visibly squirming in his seat.

Sam and he had found the room all right and had made it just in the nick of time, arriving as if it had all been cleverly thought out. (“Always out of left field, it’s Dean Winchester!” the host had said.) The questions for the entire panel of four Viners hadn’t been too difficult, and Dean had found himself enjoying what the others were like and the interaction with the fans.

Now it was Dean’s turn to take individual questions, however, and every other one was about what had transpired on Main Stage not too long ago.

“Oh, you mean that thing with Arno? I play a lot of _Assassin’s Creed_.” He drew a couple of laughs from the audience, but he’d been dodging around the subject for six questions now.

“The opening ceremonies were quite something, huh?” Charlie interjected, trying to take some of the attention off of Dean. She was on the panel with him and had been saving his bacon for the Castiel centered questions. “I LOVED the bit with the plot twist. Such great writing!”

The audience cheered in approval and Dean sent a grateful look to the red head. “Of course, the play took a lot longer than six seconds, so it was a little more rehearsal,” He adds, trying to get back on the subject of vines.

“Oh, sure, but six seconds is still enough time for even _bigger_ plot twists to unfold,” Charlie wiggles her eyebrows at Dean as she moves to grab his hand, the double entendre in her words way to obvious for Dean’s liking.

“You too?” He mouths as he evades her hand and puts his up to cover his face. Meanwhile the audience exchanges a chorus of whistles and hollers.

Charlie says nothing and continues as if the conversation never occurred. “Next question!”

“Remind me to never panel with you again, Charlie Bradbury.” Dean jabs at her. He could adapt to this, work in his element.

_An entire weekend like this is going to be insane..._

 

**. . .**

 

Sam and Dean had a panel at the same time as Cas’s, therefore neither party saw the other for the rest of the day. Dean was in a whirlwind of fan meetups, walking in and out of the vendor marketplace, signing autographs, making dubsmashes with other YouTubers, and exchanging information for future collaborations with SamSolves. Such was the life of a special guest at a convention.

“Sammy you’re gonna be booked with people working with you for the rest of your life at this rate,” He says as Sam talks to a fan who had wanted an autograph.

“Shut up, this is fun!” Sam replies as soon as he finishes with the fan and can properly turn to his brother. “You’ve been having fun, too, even if all that people are talking about it Opening and your panels. Apparently Castiel’s was cut short.

“It did? Where is he?” Dean perked up. Cas hadn’t said anything and they’d been texting each other all day. Dean wasn’t about to open a can of worms that Cas wanted to bury, so he’d try to drop the subject once they had cleared the stage.

“Not sure, but we’re gonna be late for the new YouTubers panel if we don’t haul ass now.”

  
“Whoa watch that mouth there, little bro.” Dean responds with a half smile, phone already out with Cas and his text conversation.

 

**Heard ur panel let out early. Where R U?**

5 Minutes Later just as Dean was sitting down at the panel table, a response.

 

**Gilda called it early by accident. Had extra time so I took a walk. Aren’t you paneling? –C**

**Yea but it’s about to start so I can talk.**

**Dean, I’ll talk to you in a bit. Go do your panel. – C**

_Dammit, Cas..._ Dean thought as he set his phone down. _Where are you?_

As he looked up to see the room he realized just how many people were there. It was nearing the end of the day now so he’d figured that people would’ve started leaving already. Apparently not...

“This panel’s gonna be fun, right?” Sam whispered to Dean. Sam was trying his hardest not to look nervous, but his shaky hands below the table betrayed him.

“They’re not gonna bite, Sammy. They just want to know about YouTube and the channel.” Dean tried to give his little brother a reassuring smile.

Just then, the host walked in and officially started the panel. The conversation began with how Sam started the channel; their follower count; collaborations with other YouTubers; the whole 9 yards, etc. Sam warmed up to speaking quickly and talked about the channel’s origins. Dean only talked whenever his Vine Account was mentioned or when he became a full time partner in the channel.

Some of the fan questions were more personal. They were asked about how they grew up and how they were juggling school with being a YouTuber. Dean took the helm during those questions and tried to answer them well without mentioning their upbringing or their parents. He talked about school and Benny and making videos on the weekends.

“School can get in the way sometimes, sure, but when you think about it a lot of videos can be made while working on math, or in my case yelling at it,” Dean flashes the audience a grin as Sam goes on to talk about a funny story involving math and his older brother. Dean was only half listening when he saw a figure in a blue hoodie make his way to the microphone stand where fans would ask questions.

“So next thing I know I have twenty paper airplanes flying straight at the camera and all I can hear is “THIS IS PHYSICS WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT?!” Sam finishes his story, sending the audience into yet another fit of laughter.

“Well, with all of the stories and laughs that we’ve already had I’m afraid that this here will be our last question,” The host says after the fan that had asked the question left the microphone stage. The only person left was the person in the blue hoodie. Dean angles his face in order to meet the one under the cloak and has to restrain himself was grinning like an idiot.

“Hi, uh, I have a question for Dean?” Castiel’s horrible attempt to conceal his voice rings through the microphone. Dean caught some people recognizing it, but for the most part the audience remained oblivious. Sam and Dean were the only ones that could look at Cas head on, but Sam had yet to see Castiel’s wing necklace jut out from the hoodie. In that moment Dean realized that Castiel was wearing the same attire he had on when they left for Orlando just the day before.

“Y-Yes, stranger, what is your question?” Dean knew Cas didn’t want to be recognized right away, but he had no idea what kind of question would come next. _Of all places_ , _why the hell was Cas even here anyway?_

“So what kind of shoes _do_ you like?” Cas asks, waiting for Dean’s reaction.

Dean stares at the blue-eyed mass of a hoodie that was Cas. “What kind of— BAHAHAHA!” He breaks down in laughter as his brain catches up with the small detail of the damn shoes. “Yes, that’s a thing. People wear shoes.”

The crowd laughs along apprehensively, more at Dean’s reaction than the question. They didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.

Dean knew, though. He remembered that stupid vine Benny had made that Cas had revined who knows how long ago. _Of all things, the damn sensible shoes..._ Dean was practically crying from laughter.

“Cas you idiot,” he half says to himself before realizing that microphones were a thing, too, and he had just outed Cas to the audience.

The crowd collectively gasped, screamed, and aligned their cameras accordingly as Cas lowered his hoodie and sheepishly waved at the room. Someone in the back yells “ _Frozen_ part two!” which quickly makes Dean’s ears turn pink. He was grateful that the crowd was slightly farther away from the podium so that it wasn’t too noticeable.

“So?” Castiel brought Dean’s attention to focus again after the initial shock died down.

“You actually want an answer?” Dean huffs through a laugh, still slightly (madly) crazy about the idea that Cas had been sitting through the entire panel waiting for this morning.

“I have offered but a simple question. ‘Tis your turn for an answer, O Winchester.” Castiel feigns a bow, playing to the crowd and mood of the room.

Dean was fighting the urge to burst out laughing again. _This guy is such a dork..._

“Well then, Cas. I’ll answer thine question.” Dean makes a show of pondering and fake-discussing it with Sam, who at this point had the camera rolling from the minute Cas walked up to the podium. “I’m a Nike man myself, but Adidas are cool, too.”

Castiel listened intently at Dean’s response and seemed to immediately understand Dean’s own reference. “Thank you, good sir. I am satisfied with you answer but I must now run to my panel. Ciao for now!” He said and promptly retreated towards the back of the room and out the door, taking care for as little obstruction from the end of the panel as possible.

Dean couldn’t do anything but laugh and mentally wonder for the last few minutes until the end of his panel. _Of all things he could ask, he goes for sensible shoes. What a dork..._

 

~

 

If Castiel has learned anything as a YouTuber it’s that panels are long.

He thought he’d get a chance to pop in for another one of Dean’s interviews, but after the first time getting to his own panels on time was a struggle in and of itself. The schedule was packed and left little room for Cas to meet and talk with the brothers, but that was remedied by their late night battles on Mario Kart and listening to Sam tell stories about the people at the convention. As much as Cas wanted to stay and listen to the two brothers _be_ brothers, he always ended up having to leave early or not get to hear the end of their stories.

The rest of the convention stuck to that same routine: panels, fan meet ups, autographs, and photo-shoots. It was never a dull moment at O-Con, especially when Sam came up to ask Castiel if they could actually work together on a video. This had been over lunch on the last day and all Castiel could do was laugh in disbelief.

“Sam, I figured that was a given at this point. I would love to collaborate with you.”

“Re-Really?! It’s just, you haven’t done one with anyone in so long I don’t wanna pressure you.” Sam rambled, somewhat embarrassed at having to ask his friend this in a professional manner. After all, Castiel may be their friend, but he was also a YouTuber by trade. This was his work.

“Sam, it would be my honor.” Castiel feigned yet another bow at the younger Winchester.

Dean chuckled through his mouthful of pie. “He wanted to ask you professionally for some odd damn reason.”

“Well, it beats pie crusted children who can’t seem to eat with forks and spoons asking for one,” Castiel deadpans. Before Dean could take it seriously Cas jabs him in the arm, letting him know that Cas was kidding.

“Closing Ceremonies are in a bit I’ll see you guys in the crowd.”

“Oh yeah, you have to go up there, right?” Dean says as he finishes his plate, unfazed by the earlier comments.

Castiel nods. The closing ceremonies were nothing like opening. It was just another panel really, with the panelists talking about their experiences and what they liked best about the event. “Should be fun,” He mutters. Castiel was not looking forward to it.

Sure, he’d had Sam and Dean there for the convention, but a part of him went back to the first day. Every time he saw a red head in cosplay angel wings he would inadvertently think of Anna. He’d told Dean that some panels had been cut short because of Gilda, but in reality it was just ‘cause of Cas himself not feeling up to continuing after a while. He’d think he’d see a red head with a halo in the back and then that was it. Cas could only look at her for so long.

“You’ll be okay out there, Cas,” Dean said as he placed a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. They’d been doing this a lot over the course of the weekend. It was actually kind of scary just how normal, how _right_ , it felt for Cas. In that moment he was glad “Charlene” had requested they be invited.

“It’s about to start, and they’ll only really ask me one question, but I have one for the both of you actually.” He got the brothers’ full attention now as he slowly grew his courage. “Because we have to make our collaboration video the best it can be,” Cas turned to an excited Sam specifically, “why don’t we do it at Halloween Horror Nights?” His gaze finished on Dean’s.  
           

“WHAT?!” Sam screamed, sending his own empty plate of food veering of the table.

“Yeah, they approached me earlier while I was here about doing a video for one of their houses so I figured, why not go through a scary house with you guys?” While he meant it sincerely, Castiel would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t terrified of the idea. The concept of going to a haunted house by himself frightened him to the bone, and he wouldn’t mind a hand to hold...

“Yeah, Cas, absolutely,” Dean was grinning from ear to ear.

Cas reciprocated the grin, now equally as excited. “Okay, we’ll talk more later but I have to get to Closing now.”

With that Castiel was escorted to the backstage area of main stage once again in order to go up and sit with Charlie and a few other main special guests about their experiences.

 

**. . .**

 

Adjusting to the red light, Castiel could just make out the first row of chairs in front of Main Stage. He was seated at the end of the row of guests, meaning his response would be what truly ended the convention.

“And now finally,” The host said as it became Castiel’s turn, “the wonderful Castiel Novak!” he paused for the sudden amount of cheers that emanated from the crowd. Cas looked out and found Sam and Dean sitting just in front of him in the front row, clapping and yelling with the rest of the spectators. Their fever gave him a rush of adrenaline.

“Now, Castiel. This convention has had an interesting effect on you, I’m sure, but what I want to know is what did you like about this year compared to last year?”

Castiel eyed the host before responding. He knew exactly what he was getting at and was pretty sure the rest of the crowd knew, too. “To be perfectly honest with you I did not know if I wanted to come back to O-Con this year,” Cas began. He looked at the crowd and locked eyes with the green-eyed boy who, somehow in just a short amount of time, had become his anchor to the ground. “Yeah, last year was rough, but I think the new people that I met here really made this worthwhile, and I’m glad I get to call them my friends now.” He shot Dean a smile as the other boy smirked, his face half obscured by a beanie with angel wings that Cas had bought him at the marketplace.

The host tracked Castiel’s eye line before Castiel could stop staring, finding its way to Dean. “OH,” he begins, breaking into a knowing grin. “Oh I can see the fan fiction being written with what just happened here, hmmmmmmm?” He motions dramatically over to Cas, trying to elicit a response.

For a crowd of 4 thousand people, word spread fast, or at least the idea of what was going on spread fast. Castiel tried his hardest to cover up what should have been a private moment, silently thanking the lighting department for making the stage lights red, but it was too late. Castiel had lingered too long. The damage had been done.

“DESTIEL!” Someone towards the back shouted, prompting more and more people to relate the nickname to the duo who at this point were trying to cover their faces completely. Castiel snuck another glace at Dean but was only found with the angel wing hoodie completely obscuring his face.

“Oh man,” Castiel buried his face in his hands, trying to make it seem like an act when in actuality his hands were his very own angel beanie. _They’ve started shipping._ _And when fans start shipping..._

They barely know each other and they’ve already got a ship name.

Cas didn’t know what to make of Destiel, but he did know one thing.

_At least it’s clever..._


	11. Haunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is basically the Halloween Horror Nights Chapter (or the longest chapter to date in this fic :)

“But, shouldn’t it be Dea-stiel?”

“Sammy, shut your face.”

Dean loved his fans, don’t get him wrong, but in the moments leading up to and after the mention of “Destiel” echoing through the massive main stage area all Dean loved was the angel beanie that was big enough to cover his face completely and erase his blush from the visible world. He’d made a point to scurry backstage as quickly and quietly as possible during the concert that followed Castiel’s panel, but he didn’t know what he was going to say to the blue-eyed boy after that confession.

 _Wait, was it a confession?_ Dean thought it through. Cas had buried his face in his hands after the chanting had started and refused to look at Dean again, prompting Dean to leave so quickly _. No, it wasn’t a confession_ , Dean rationalized. Cas had been embarrassed that they had thought that about him and Dean. No way did it mean anything else...

Dean felt his heart thud slightly in his chest, his mind now glued to the idea. There was no way Cas had feelings for him. Hell, Dean didn’t even know if that’s what he would call whatever his relationship with Cas was. They barely knew each other yet it felt like they’d been in one another’s lives for years...

Dean decided right then to not think about it. Cas was his friend, and he wasn’t going to risk that right then.

“There he is, Dean,” Sam pointed across the room to where Castiel was looking through the curtains at the crowd, his eyes seeming to search for something. Dean vaguely wondered if it was he Castiel was looking for, but his brain’s earlier decision killed the thought. Castiel was Sam and Dean’s friend. This “Destiel” crap was nothing more than a game the fans had made.

 _Better not to mention it, then._ Dean reasoned as Sam and he made it to Cas’s side of the fence. After nearly scaring the crap out of the guy (he was not expecting to find the people he was looking for to be right behind him, but Dean didn’t know that), Castiel’s gaze slowly settled on the elder Winchester. He remained pensive as Sam talked animatedly about the performance that was the Closing Ceremonies, but his eyes seemed to speak volumes as to what had happened. It almost scared Dean just how quickly he could pick up on these silent conversations and partake in them with a guy he’s only really _physically_ known for less than a week, generally speaking.

If he had to put the conversation into words it would probably go along the lines of:

 

Cas: I didn’t mean for that to happen.

Dean: Yeah I figured, but it did anyway.

Cas: They started shipping.

Dean: I’ve realized, yeah. What are we gonna do?

Cas: Does it really matter?

Dean: What do you mean?

 

From there, Dean was getting mixed signals from Cas’s scrunch up nose and probing eyes. He stared a little more at the pink flecks in his eyes that were the result of the stage lights when Sam cleared his throat.

“I’m sure you both have a lot to talk about, but it’d be nice to do that when we’re at the hotel and y’all can actually sit down about it.”

Both boys turned to the younger Winchester, their faces sharing the shock as to being caught in a personal debate (not that it wasn’t private or anything, but in Dean’s head it felt like it had been). Dean studied his brother’s face a little more and saw amusement in his eyes. Whatever tension that had been there of any sort evaporated as Dean clapped a hand on Sam’s back. “Deal.”

They’d started making their way to exit when some rather loud demands grabbed their attention. Dean saw Sam look up to see a group of congoers wearing demon horn headbands, complete with what seemed like black contacts from far away. On each other their shirts was the name of what Dean assumed was their respective YouTube channels, but upon looking at Sam Dean realized that his brother hung his head dejectedly.

“Sammy, what’s up?”

“Oh it’s nothing I just recognize some of those names from some of the comments that I’ve been getting on the videos.” Sam answers nonchalantly, his body language betraying his sulk. Dean turned once more to look at the “demons” and noted that each channel had that word involved in one way or another.

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Sam.” Dean moves to avoid the group altogether as they made their way to the exit that led to the hotel. Cas seems to catch on as well when he looks over to the group.

“They’re just mad that they don’t get to go to Halloween Horror Nights, Sam.” Cas lightly prodded Sam’s shoulder. “And we get to go VIP, meaning no lines.”

Upon hearing this Sam perks up a little and walks slightly ahead of Cas and Dean, giving them enough room to actually speak to one another.

 

~

 

“Well, that was fun,” Cas says awkwardly, unsure of how to approach the question. Unbeknownst to Dean, Cas had interpreted the stare down conversation in roughly the same manner, only a little more in depth. To Cas it went something to the effect of:

 

Cas: Dean, I am so sorry about that.

Dean: It’s cool. I had a beanie.

Cas: Fans can be... over zealous when it comes to shipping.

Dean: Seems that way, but I don’t know what we’re gonna do about it.

Cas: What do you mean?

 

That was what Cas thought Dean was trying to say through his scrunched up eyebrows and pouted lips, his eyes watching Cas with a questioning stare. Then it hit him: Dean probably didn’t feel the same way. Not that Cas had said anything revealing about his friend in the first place, but if there was any possibility it didn’t look like it was present in Dean’s mind yet.

So now that they were walking together with Sam just out of earshot ahead, Cas reasoned that the best approach was to speak normally. Better not to stir the ashes if there wasn’t a flame. In that moment, Castiel didn’t care. He had his best friend. Any sort of feelings could wait.

“Yeah it was pretty fun, Cas. Thanks for letting us come.” Dean gave him a half smile as he walked ahead, seemingly as lost in his own thoughts as Castiel. Not wanting to walk in silence just yet, Cas elects to turn Dean’s attention to HHN.

“You know how you said your biggest fear was flying?”

“Yeah, we didn’t really get to talk about that either,” Dean chuckled, his hand reaching for the back of his head in embarrassment as they neared the escalators. Cas had picked up quickly that this was a way Dean showed embarrassment or nervousness.

“Well,” Cas starts, unsure of just when to end, “It’s just... I have this problem with blood and bodies and...” Cas was about to say _hanging corpses_ but he figured Dean would have no idea what he was talking about. “All that due to some stuff, so I don’t know how much I’ll actually get to see. But I figured it was a good trade off since you lived out your fear with me, you know?” Castiel knew he was rambling at that point; his hands shoved firmly in his pockets and his eyes moving everywhere except Dean’s direction.

Dean listened intently, taking in each of Castiel’s words despite Cas thinking he wasn’t making much sense. His expression softened quickly the more Cas spoke, and their awkwardness faded as Dean moved to place a hand around Castiel like he did every once in a while with Sam. “If that’s your way of telling me you’re scared of haunted mansions it’s okay. I had this job as a scare actor once so I have some idea of how people react.” Dean looked at Cas while he spoke, sporting a reassuring smile as he spoke. “Just sing Metallica.”  
            Cas huffed a laugh as he stared at his and Dean’s shoes. Nikes and Adidas... Suddenly Cas looked up at Dean with a knowing smile as he remembered Dean’s panel. “You’re probably gonna wanna wear those tomorrow. What with a lot of running from zombies.”

Now it was Dean’s turn to laugh as Cas felt Dean pull him ever closer, causing Cas to catch his breath for a second.

“What can I say, they’re sensible shoes.”

 

~

 

Dean would never stop thanking the existence of VIP passes.

They had made it to the park somewhat early enough so that there weren’t too many people yet, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a massive hoard scrambling at the entrance to the 25th Anniversary of Halloween Horror Nights. Dean gaped as more and more people showed up, each wearing a HHN shirt or adorned with fake blood. Some even had badges that said “HHN Virgin,” which Dean found hilarious.

“We should get you one, Cas,” He joked as they made their way behind the lines and mass of people. Cas followed to where Dean was pointing before he smirked and nodded. Because of Castiel’s status as a “recognizable attendee,” it was required he be with a “host” for the duration of the event, and since Sam was the cameraman the HHN crew had given him a bright neon sign that said “CAMERA OP” so as to let the scare actors know not to scare him. Dean and Cas, on the other hand, were fair game.

“So, which house first?” Dean made his way just ahead of the host into the first scare zone, a fairy tale gone rogue theme just beside the Minions and Shrek rides. All around him actors caked with makeup eyed him hungrily, more than one attempting to follow and scare him as they walked pass. Dean was a veteran when it came to haunted houses and events, so these things were mere Barbie dolls compared to some of the makeup and houses that he and Benny had done in Kansas.

Despite Cas warning him about his fear, though, the poor boy looked beyond terrified. He’d cried bloody murder upon the sight of the knight standing guard at the entrance to the scare zone, and they’d only made it 20 feet into the park at that point.

For a while, Dean let Cas go first while Sam filmed them walking, silently admiring the way Castiel could look terrified yet so damn attractive. Whenever an actor got close and made a sound Cas would move his hands to connect to his chest, his hands up in the air in surrender as his face scrunched up and swallowed his eyes. It was kind of adorable really, in a weird way.

Dean had realized he’d stopped moving when the a bellhop popped into his vision and really did make him scream, apparently at the right time, too, since Sam’s camera had been trained on him.

“Oh what’s that?!” Sam mockingly yelled over the sound of the amplified screams and music in the park, “Did big bad Dean just get scared byEsteban Julio Ricardo Montoya de la Rosa Ramírez?”

“No he didn’t because no one’s got the time to say his entire damn name!” Dean laughed at the camera, immediately getting the _Suite Life of Zack and Cody_ joke.

He jogged up and landed right next to Cas, who jumped two feet away from him upon his sudden appearance. Dean hollered out a laugh that had him crying instantly, his tears muffled by his repeated snickers as Cas playfully punched him in the ribs.

“So what house?” Dean asks him once they’d cleared the first zone.

“Well, I guess we can try them all and just say which one was our favorite after?” Cas was clearly out of his element, but the adrenaline from the scares seems to have started to kick in since he was now fully and wide-awake.

“To the 3D House we go then!” Dean yelled as he made guided them to the entrance just in front of the Shrek ride, taking care to stay on the sides so that the actors didn’t scare them too much. At this point the gates at the front of the park were open so lines had already started forming, meaning there were more opportunities for the actors to meld into the crowd and scream unsuspecting guests.

Dean could feel Castiel’s breath on the back of his neck as their guide moved them through VIP and waited for the house to clear enough so that they wouldn’t be waiting in a line inside. Dean stopped just short enough to let Castiel bump his head on Dean’s back. “I’m here, Cas.” He turns his head so as to meet Cas’s eyes.

Castiel only nods before putting both of his hands on Dean’s shoulders. “I’m basically just gonna be like this the whole time, fair warning.” Cas’s voice was quiet and already slightly trembiling.

Dean caught the slight pink in Cas’s cheeks and dismissively wondered if he’d misread the Closing Ceremonies after all. He didn’t dwindle on that for fear of where it might lead, so he focused on the here and now as he moved to grab one of Castiel’s hands and squeeze lightly, letting him know that it was fine. After all, friends do that, right?

The 3D house was _Alice in Wonderland_ themed, though in Dean’s opinion it was more like Alice was tripping on acid. They’d been given 3D glasses and the entire house was adorned in neon colors. Dean thought it was pretty cool because the black concealed the actors until they moved and revealed their neon spiders, body parts, or faces. Sam was in front of them recording their reactions, so the camera was completely trained on Cas, Dean, and whatever actor was right next to them.

In the 3D house, there was one scare actor that was completely covered in black, allowing for Sam’s camera to see him but not allowing for Dean or Cas that luxury. Dean felt Cas’s grip lessen on his shoulders when he thought the coast was clear until the man dressed in black extended his arms and revealed a neon tarantula painted on the cloth timed with a sound effect. It had been an attempt to scare Cas more than Dean, and it had worked wonders as Dean soon found himself nearly running into the wall from Castiel’s sudden jumping onto him. What had originally started as shoulder hugging was now a full blown piggy back ride and Dean struggled to regain his balance from the newfound weight on him, all the while Cas screamed out profanities in a language Dean didn’t recognize right away (It was only later that Dean would find out it was Spanish).

They’d made it out of the house two minutes later after Cas climbed off of Dean, but the shoulder grabbing became a hug from behind thereafter. Dean wasn’t complaining, though. His fears about the convention were slowly fading with every scare that caused Cas to grip him tighter. Maybe it was just the adrenaline and Dean was the nearest thing to grab, or maybe it was just Cas’s way of coping with fear factors. Either way, Dean wasn’t about to complain from the contact.

When it came to other houses, Dean felt slightly bolder and occasionally feigned fright so as to grip Castiel’s hand on his waist. He’d blame the adrenaline, but right now it didn’t matter what Cas thought of him. After all, they were still filming a video so why not play it up?

Sam had been having a field day filming them getting scared shitless, but he noticed all too quickly just how close the duo had gotten. Unnaturally close, even for friends at a scare event. They were in constant contact, either a hand on a shoulder, or in Castiel’s case a waist hug with the occasionally burying of his face into Dean’s back, something Sam knew the camera captured perfectly, especially Dean’s reaction to whenever that happened. Sam knew immediately that his brother and _the_ Castiel Novak had something going on, though he doubted even they knew what it was at the moment. After seeing them in the houses Sam just let the camera continue to record after they’d get out and walked around the park in between scares. The camera ended up capturing how the boys would try to scare each other, or how Cas would walk _right_ behind Dean in a scare zone. Seriously they were always connected, Sam found it endearing that his brother had found someone he related so closely to, enough to actually not stop touching him. It was out of Dean’s nature to do that at home. Even at HHN it seems that the only people that cling on to each other for dear life are teenage girls and couples, and Cas and Dean definitely weren’t teenage girls...

Their last house was a new one based off of a movie that had recently come out about the mystery behind the third location beyond Earth. Purgatory, as the house was called, was designed to have a little bit of everything for everyone.

Before they went in, Castiel already poised behind Dean, Dean stopped him from gripping his shoulders. He moved Cas’s hand to take Dean’s own before looking back up at the now confused blue-eyed boy. “So you can give my shoulders a break,” Dean clarified, his eyes staring at his Nikes after he’d failed to hold Cas’s gaze for long. “Seriously man, you have the grip like you’re gonna drag me outta hell or something.”

Instead of responding, Cas squeezes Dean’s hand lightly before they make their way inside to the woods-themed house.

The entire warehouse is completely enveloped in darkness, allowing for only barely enough light to shine through courtesy of the exit signs. Sam’s cameras had night vision, which allowed for Sam to see what was going on but didn’t take away from Cas or Dean’s experience. Walking into the house was the first time in the entire day that Dean felt slightly terrified. There could be anything in here. Demons, Vampires, Clowns...

Speaking of the devil, a clown popped up in a small alleyway just to Dean’s right, prompting him to jump and retract back and bump into Cas, who ended up hiding in Dean’s shoulder blades. The sudden appearance of the clown, though, terrified the filmmaker in front of them the most, as Sam let out a supernaturally high pitched scream as his camera jolted violently.

“I. HATE. CLOWNS.” He screeched as he backed as quickly away from the scare actor that was laughing his little red nose off. Nobody had told Sam that Jack the Clown was back and was the main event at HHN this year, so he’d been concealed in almost every house. In Purgatory, though, it seemed the most prominent as Jack appeared two more times, once stepping into the path and one time completely separating Dean and Cas completely from each other.

“Come back soon!” A clown called behind them as the trio ran into the next room, this one looking more like a funeral home complete with a coffin on their right. All of the chairs were empty and seemed to go on forever, and Dean couldn’t see any visible actors anywhere, just the security detail that guided them through the house. Their host didn’t go into the houses so he was nowhere to be seen.

Dean squeezed Castiel’s hand ever tighter and felt Cas’s free hand snake its way around Dean’s neck and around to his front, all while bringing their joined hands to meet at Dean’s chest. The entire look made it seem as if Castiel was holding on to Dean while Dean dragged him through the home and probably made them look utterly hopeless and ridiculous, but Dean didn’t care. If Cas was scared, Dean was there.

Out of nowhere, the bloody, undead undertaker of the home appears from behind a skinny post that Dean’s logical mind knew had no way of concealing the over 6-ft. scare actor. Upon scaring them (Or really, upon sending Cas to Shreiksville), Dean looked back around and realized that the undertaker was hiding behind a mirror wall, thus making the empty chairs look as if they were on forever and the poll skinny. The entire effect was genius and nothing Dean had ever seen before.  
            “DAMN I LOVE THESE HOUSES MAN!” Dean yelled into the void as he pumped his and Cas’s conjoined hands in the air much to Castiel’s dismay. Dean laughed and turned his face to where he thought Cas’s was only to be met with Castiel’s ear as his face buried into Dean’s neck, almost fitting perfectly with his sweaty skin. “I’m here, Cas. You’re okay,” He patted Castiel’s head with his free hand as they made their way to the end of the house, but not before a clown betrayed the camera badge and scared Sam outright.

“AAAAARGH!” Sam screeched and bee-lined it to the exit, avoiding the chainsaw man that had been waiting for them at the very end.

Cas had lifted his head up just enough to see Sam’s reaction, and Dean felt Cas smile into his skin. Dean made sure to note how, despite the sweat that he feels dripping down his back from the constant warmth, it was way to _normal_ to feel Cas’s smile on his body. Dean made a mental note to never forget this moment, because honestly, it probably wasn’t going to happen again. These were not the things friends would do, much to Dean’s inner protests as to what he wanted to do.

They’d made it out of Purgatory grinning and whooping with laughter as Sam scowled at them both, the camera slightly tilted due to Sam not really caring about the footage at the moment.

“You said _nothing_ about clowns, jerk,” Sam manages through gritted teeth, though his ever-growing grin betrays his true feelings.

“Yeah, and you never said anything about filming us outside of houses, bitch,” Dean shoots back, his grin all to evident as he trails Cas behind him.

Sam gaped at him, but he quickly let the words drop as they walk.

They make their way out of the park and on to the slightly empty streets of the City Walk. Most of the businesses were closing down since it was half past 3 in the morning, and so it was really just the trio making their way to the car waiting by the bus loop to take them back to the hotel. Once they’d made it back Sam excused himself quickly to go in search of Charlie, saying he wanted to show her the footage. This effectively left Cas and Dean alone on the couch in Cas’s room, each sprawled out as Dean lazily changed the channels to see what was on. He was lying down with his stomach facing the ceiling while Cas had his legs tucked underneath him just behind Dean’s head.

They were showing a rerun of _SNL_ so Dean let that play as white noise as he let the adrenaline finally start to wear off. Without thinking, he lazily moved to grab Cas’s hand and moved his thumb rhythmically over the other boy’s fingers, lost in thought until he realized what he was doing.

“Shit, sorry Cas,” Dean moved to retract his hand but was only found with tension as Cas pulled it back, his eyes trained on how their hands went together. Dean’s heart was on the brink of the edge at that point, unsure of whether or not it was the waning adrenaline or Cas not wanting to leave just yet. Coherent thoughts were starting to take over though as his mind processed the end of the con and the majority of today. Dean couldn’t be dreaming what he was feeling, right? And he couldn’t be misreading the signals? But he could—has—done that before. In that moment despite everything, though, Dean didn’t care. There is some awkward banter about shoes and the Bill and Ted Show they had caught in between houses before Cas falls silent.

Dean shifted on the couch to look at a nestled Cas upside down, their hands still interlocked with Dean rubbing his thumb over Castiel’s knuckle. The comfortable silence lasted a few minutes before Dean sees that Cas is staring at him.

“Thank you, Dean,” he starts. “For being there, I mean. I know I can get a little touchy when it comes to that, but it’s just...” He trails off. Dean knew what Cas was trying to say. He’d nearly said it before the entire event when they were talking about the houses and what they were going to see. Dean knew enough to know Cas had found Anna in her dorm, and probably seeing something like that today in a haunted house where people went for _fun_ was not high on Cas’s to do list. Dean didn’t know exactly how Anna died, but seeing a dead body for real changes a person. Dean was lost in his own dark memories while he let Cas collect his thoughts. When Cas remained silent Dean squeezed his hand.

“Typical knight of hell, that’s me,” he smiles softly as he looks at the upside down version of the blue-eyed boy. Cas stared down at him as blue eyes observed green, each party lost in his own world.

Dean felt the world shift and move slowly as he counted how many times Cas’s hair stuck out from his head. Unknown to him, Cas was doing the same with Dean’s soft freckles.

Dean’s mind recounted the events of the past couple of weeks. Ever since he had started talking to Cas he’d felt himself sinking deeper and deeper for the YouTuber that he’s only really known for, like, a month, yet it felt like eons. Dean felt his breathing hitch as his brain finally put into words what his heart was telling him.

He’s falling hard for his best friend, but Dean figured there was a very slim chance Cas felt the same way. Still, his mind dared to hope. Dean chuckled as the term “Destiel” entered his mind again, recalling the chanting. _Doubt it, but..._

The blue-eyed boy was going through a similar crisis in his head as he, too, recounted the past month of his life with the words “Dean Winchester” added to his daily conversation. Like Dean, Cas figured that their friendship was too new to try anything else. It was a scary alone thinking that he’d fallen so hard so fast for a boy he’d only recently met, and yet here he was, constantly reassuring him that the past night’s events were make-believe and that none of it was real. Dean would probably never know just how much of a “Knight” he had really been for Cas, and Cas wasn’t about to tell him for fear their friendship or whatever it was would break.

Each boy had been so absorbed in the other and their own individual thoughts that neither heard Sam nor Charlie enter the room until Charlie all but pounded symbols into their ears.

Immediately, Dean tumbled to the right and hit the floor hard, his legs flailing up towards the ceiling as his stomach kissed the ground. Cas whipped his head around quickly enough to get whiplash as both boys begrudgingly stared at the unwelcome party crashers.

“Seriously you two,” Charlie tisked, a knowing smile on her face. “You do any more of this and people will really start shipping you more than they did at the con.”


	12. If I Could Fly

_@CastielNovak will you quit telling people I got scared by a bellhop when YOU got scared by a spider blanket?! #Unamused #MaybeALittleMused ;)_

Dean hit “Tweet” as he sat in his math class, oblivious as to what scalene triangles were and instead focused on his phone. It has been a couple of weeks since they had returned from Orlando and since then Sam had posted his latest collaboration. Within a couple of hours alone it was at the top on the YouTube watch page and there was constant commentary from people about Cas and Dean’s reactions to being scared. Now that Dean was home and had to go back to classes, Cas and he would often talk about the video on Twitter and Vine, much to their mutual fans’ excitement. Sure, there were more private conversations, but Dean quickly picked up on the small difference in persona of actual Cas versus Internet Cas. It was very similar to how Dean would act around classmates as opposed to his little brother. Also since Dean knew Cas was at home in his bunker and not physically in front of him, Dean took those liberties to send smiley faces or cryptic tweets, something the fans fawned over every time.

With only a few more minutes left in the class the teacher had elected to give them free time, something Dean originally adored but now was apprehensive about. Why? Because now Jo could pounce on him any second and bombard him with, “Any Novak News?”

As if on queue, the blonde sat down on Dean’s desk, forcing Dean to look up and shoot her a salute in hello.

“Honestly when are you going to just ask him out already?” Jo eyed him mockingly. She was a self-professed “shipper” now and was very in tune with the apparent Meta written about Cas and Dean on Tumblr and other sites.

Dean rolled her eyes and shot her a look, already feeling the slight burn in his cheeks upon the thought of just how well _that_ conversation would go. Sure, Dean and Cas had only gotten closer as their friendship strengthened, but there was still a lot Cas didn’t know about Dean and vice versa. Being friends is what mattered right now; anything beyond that could wait.

“First off, Cas is my _friend,_ Harvelle,” Dean pointed, trying as hard as possible to disguise the flush he knew was on his cheeks. “This whole ‘Destiel’ stuff is hilarious to both of us, but there’s plenty of people that ‘ship’ it as a friendship,” He emphasized the air quotes.

Instantly he knew he had said something wrong when he saw Jo’s mouth widen in a huge “O.”

“I knew you’ve read the Meta, too, Winchester!” She practically attack hugged him, which was awkward considering she was still sitting on the desk and he was in his chair several inches below her.

 _Dammit, shut up Dean._ He chastised himself. He’d be lying if he said that the stuff didn’t appear on his dash or the YouTube channel comments from time to time. So what if he’d read some accounts saying that “Destiel” could be platonic? It somewhat made sense.

But still...

Dean let the thought unravel before he could pursue it any more and risk being lost, so he carefully untangled himself from Jo in favor of looking through some more YouTube comments.

This was something both the brothers and Cas liked to do: look at what other people thought of the video and what they didn’t like. They were open to constructive criticism, though to be honest most of the comments started with the words “DESTIEL IS REAL!” and ended there.

Dean was scrolling through his phone when one comment caught his eye that was very much unlike the others.

 

 **DemonKnightCain : They both probably shit their pants from fear of losing their credibility. Honestly this entire video is a joke and none of these people matter to anyone but them I don’t get the hype.** **And that little brother is such a suck up, trailing in the older squirrel’s shadow thinking he’ll get anywhere. Honestly what a bunch of idiots all of them.**

 

“I know that look,” Jo moved to read Dean’s phone over his shoulder. “That’s the look of a very pissed off older brother.”

“I really don’t get these people,” was all Dean could say through gritted teeth. Cas had warned them about Crowley’s demons, to be prepared for the inevitable hate that for some reason was garnered around any collaboration he did with people. Dean had seen comments like this one before on his vine account so he could take the haters. Sam on the other hand was an entirely different story.

Without thinking, Dean started typing a reply to the comment. Sure sometimes they’d delete the comments altogether so as to not let others from reading the hateful things people say. Other times, though...

 

 **@ DemonKnightCain** **Yo it’s the squirrel here. You might be right that the video was a joke! It was hilarious and a lot of fun to record I’m so sorry you missed out on all the fun that us here “idiots” got to go to for FREE and even got PAID for going. This squirrel here is terribly sorry you feel so low that you’d bad mouth a little kid on the Internet for being awesome enough to film, edit, and set this entire masterpiece to a wonderful rendition of that weird chicken music we all know and love. Hope you have a good day in hell ;) -Dean**

 

“Nice evading of that political line there, Dean-O,” Jo jabbed at him as Dean hit the enter key to publish the reply. Dean smirked as he read his handiwork. It wouldn’t make sense to outright badmouth the guy and sink to his level on the Internet. No, better to use his words against him and make it funny than to let him know that he had gotten Dean mad over his mentioning Sam. It’s a hard line to walk, but Dean doesn’t really care if it meant protecting Sam. More than once he’d caught his little brother reading Dean’s responses and smiling, so Dean would take what he could get.

A Twitter notification popped up on his screen as he exited out of the YouTube app. Smiling despite having been pissed not two seconds before, Dean read his best friend’s latest tweet.

 

_@DeanWinchester in my defense the spider did literally pop in out of NOWHERE whereas you were too busy staring like a doof that the bellhop got you #YoureAmusedAdmitIt #Surprise_

 

Vaguely wondering what the surprise part entailed, Dean heard the thundering sound that was the final bell of the day as kids all around him grabbed their bags and rushed out of the door. Knowing full well that it would take forever to get Sam away from Jess in order to go home, Dean elected to take his time packing his things, sending a quick “you’re such an dork” text to Cas before he made his way out of the school building.

The courtyard was packed with students staging a mass exodus to the bus loop to leave the school. He saw an unnaturally large group of girls making their way over to the senior parking lot, but he ignored that thought once his eyes caught sight of Sam’s already too long mane of hair. Dean made his way towards where he usually found Sam and his pretty-much-girlfriend (“she is not, Dean!”) Jess sitting at one of the school benches. Sure enough his nervous nut of a brother was fumbling with one of Jessica’s hands as Dean approached them.

“Heya Jess,” Dean shot her a grin before he turned to his brother. “You heading back or you planning on inviting Jess out for a snack or something?” He winked at his brother to try to get Sam to understand just what Dean was saying, but Sam refused to meet his brother’s eyes.

“Actually I have this luncheon thing with my mom right after school,” Jess waved an awkward hand through her hair when it was clear Sam wasn’t going to speak. “But I can meet you at the library in a little bit if you want?” She ducked her head so as to make Sam look up and meet her eyes. Poor Sam’s entire cheeks were flustered and beet-red either from embarrassment or shyness or both.

“Y-Yeah, Jess. That sounds like fun,” was all he could say before his voice rose two octaves and he made himself shut up.

Dean let out a particularly loud laugh as he motioned for Sam to walk with him to their car in the senior parking lot. “I’ll drop him off there, Jess. Don’t you worry!” He raised a hand in the air in goodbye as Sam slowly got up and followed his older brother.

“I could’ve done that, you know,” Sam’s eyes were trained on the parking lot, his voice no longer the wavering mess that it had been two minutes prior.

“But you didn’t, did you Sammy?” Dean scoffed as he ruffled his brother’s hair. “Young love can be a tricky thing, but you gotta know what you want and hope the other person feels the same way.”

Suddenly Sam perks up and whips his head in Dean’s direction, a knowing smirk plastered on his face. “Sounds like you should take your own advice.” He motions for Dean to look at the parking lot after Dean just stares at his brother dumbfounded. After a few minutes he looks up to find a group of girls crowded around the Impala as a figure was taking pictures with them. He seemed tense, as if something had just happened that Dean hadn’t seen, but he quickly loosened up as more fans crowded around him.

“Well son of a bitch,” Dean smiled.

 

~

 

“Hashtag Surprise,” Castiel laughed at his joke as he pressed the tweet button on his phone. He’d been waiting in the senior parking lot for 10 minutes now as people were starting to exit Lebanon High School. Any second Dean would pop out and get the reference as Cas had Gabriel drop him off so that he could spend the day with the brothers. The bunker was on the outskirts of the town, which meant that either Cas walked 40 minutes or Gabe drove him for 5, and since Cas would’ve been late with the former plan, he took the latter.

Cas played on his phone for a while before he caught movement on the far side of the building within his eyesight. Looking up he caught sight of a boy holding a white rose and had to do a double take upon seeing the suit.

“KC?” He called out, but his words only ended up drawing attention to himself as the figure blended back into the shadows. Instantly Cas heard squeals as people began to go up to him asking for autographs, some knowing full well whose car Cas was standing by. By this point the majority of the school was out, so there was no real way to know if it really had been KC or just some kid in a school uniform. Castiel chalked it up to paranoia and too much coffee as he willed himself to relax and address some of the fans that were now slowly forming a line. “Hey everyone,” he made small talk with them before many began to leave quickly to catch their respective buses.

“Fancy seeing you here, Cas.” Cas heard as eyes landed on Dean holding Sam and his backpacks while they approached the little circle of people that lingered.

“What can I say?” Cas lazily threw his hands up in mock surrender as some fans silently snickered into their hands. Cas looked around at those that were still there before he clasped Dean on the shoulder. “Surprise,” he mouthed, earning an “O” from Dean as he opened up the trunk.  They both took a couple of pictures before the giggling girls left them space for Dean to actually drive out of the parking lot. Cas sat in the front while Sam road in the back with a toolbox of mechanic supplies.

“You working today?” Cas asked as Dean fiddled with the radio, lowering the volume so that the music was reduced to background noise.

“Nah, I just keep one here in case someone at the shop steals some of my tools,” Dean hadn’t stopped grinning since they’d gotten into the car, his hands drumming in tune with the music that Cas could barely hear. “So what brings you to the other side of town? I thought you were recording today.”

“I’m doing that tonight,” Cas answered. “Just thought I’d pop in.”

“You know we love to see you, Castiel,” Sam moved to place his arms over the front seat. “But I don’t think showing up at a school where the majority of the kids watch YouTubers was such a great idea.”

“Yeah about that, actually,” Castiel thought back to his paranoid self. “I thought I saw KC at your school.”

He felt the car slow abruptly as Dean made it to a deserted stop sign, his gaze moving from the road to Cas to make sure he’d heard right. “You mean the dick that disappeared at O-Con? Here?”

“Yes,” Cas admitted shyly. “I know it’s probably dumb, but does he go here or something? How did he find you school? I mean, you’ve never put it online, have you?”

“Don’t think so,” Sam answered, though his expression made him look guilty. “But I guess it’s possible that he could’ve seen the background and just found a word or something that he could trace?”

Castiel felt his heart quicken at the prospect that KC had found him. He’d never spoken to the guy outside of on stage, yet Cas was certain KC was in line with the other “demons” that had renewed their cyber bullying campaign against Cas once more. He raised a hand to his head to quell the headache he was starting to feel.

Probably seeing Castiel’s response, Cas felt a hand grip his shoulder, prompting him to look up.

Dean had gotten the car rolling again as they made their way down the central road of Lebanon. His thumb started rubbing Castiel’s shoulder blade in reassurance. “It’s probably nothing, Cas. Listen I’ve gotta drop Sammy here for a date but why don’t we grab some coffee and sort this out?”

 _Wait, what?_ Cas’s mind reeled at Dean’s sudden implication.

“It’s NOT a date, Dean,” Sam protested in the backseat.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. “Dean eyed Sam through the rearview mirror, stifling a laugh as he caught sight of his brother about to burst. “Just get out now and tell me all about how you failed to kiss her later.”

With a huff, Sam grabbed his backpack and exited the car quickly. “I’ll only call it a date if _you_ man up and do the same!” He says before Dean could get another word out. All the while Cas was still processing Dean’s proposal, and what Sam had just said only perplexed Cas more.

“What does he mean ‘man up and do the same?’” Cas looked at the older Winchester even though his eyes were now firmly trained on the road.

“Nothing, Cas. Sammy is just trying to be funny.” Dean wouldn’t elaborate past that, but Cas caught sight of the hint of red in his ears and cheeks that made his freckles pop. He decided to let the issue drop, as they pulled up to the town coffee shop, unsure of how to continue it anyway.

 

~

 

“Do you mean to tell me you asked Cas out on a _date_?!” Jo’s excited voice traveled through on the other end of the phone. They were in the shop waiting for their coffee’s to arrive when Cas got up to use the restroom, thus giving time for Dean to answer the incessant calls of one Jo Harvelle.

“I. Did. Not. I just said that we were going to get coffee while Sam was at his date,” Dean answered lamely. It hadn’t been his intention to ask Cas to grab coffee in a way that totally made it sound like a date, but he was pretty sure the thought had crossed Cas’s mind when he didn’t say anything apart from his coffee order to the barista after they’d arrived.

“Dean, you know just as well as I do that one of your first dates _ever_ started with that same sentence,” Dean didn’t need to see Jo to know that she was playfully pouting and referring to when they had first met at Ellen’s house. They’d figured out pretty quickly that they were better off as friends and here they were years later.

“Jo.”

“Man up, Winchester.” She says before the line clicks dead just as the barista arrives with their coffee and side of fries.

Dean was staring at his phone as if it were a piece of alien tech when Cas comes back and sits down in the booth in front of him. They’d gotten the cozy one in the back even though the shop was pretty deserted, so Dean and Cas could talk as much as they wanted to for however long Sam was planning on staying at the library. The sun had already started its descent into the night as Cas sat down.

Without saying anything, Cas gingerly reaches over to grab Dean’s latte and places it next to his own weird hot chai green tea mess that Dean would never learn the name of. Cas places it so that Dean’s name was facing Cas and snapped the picture quickly using his phone.

“You putting that where exactly?” Dean asked as he moved to grab his drink back. Cas remained silent as he took another picture of Dean’s confused expression with the drink in hand.

“The first one? Instagram, but the second one is currently being sent to your phone.” Castiel grinned just as Dean’s phone pinged. He moved to swipe the screen to see a picture of his face holding on to the cup, the words “Cass” scrawled just above Dean’s thumb. He snickered as he realized he’d accidently grabbed Cas’s drink and motioned for Cas to hand him his own.

“I really don’t get why some people add an extra ‘S.”” He jokes as the exchange was made. Cas only nods in agreement before both boys attended to sitting in comfortable silence, each drinking his drink and lazily munching on fries.

“You wanna talk about it.” Dean didn’t phrase it as a question. He would only talk about Cas’s misgivings at school if Cas wanted to.

“You don’t think it was really him do you?” Cas fingers the lid of his cup, eyes scrunched as he frowned.

“It was probably just one of the students at school. How could he know anything, Cas?” Dean reasoned. “You don’t know the guy and we’re not even sure if he follows you or is just another of Crowley’s goons.” Dean stops, a question forming in his brain. “Do you even know what that guy looks like?”

“Not really,” Cas admitted. “His profile picture is just a crown on a mannequin’s head. It’s creepy.

Dean fell silent as he regarded Castiel’s demeanor. He’d switched from the cup’s lid to just wringing his hands on the table, his mind obviously lost in thought and maybe something else. For the second time that day Dean moved to comfort Cas and placed a finger on Cas’s hands.

“Cas?” He whispered to get the blue-eyed boy’s attention trained on him. “This guy said some messed up shit and it’s okay if it hurts you a lot,” he starts, trying his best to make sure that whatever Cas’s feeling were about this were valid in his eyes. “He tried to hurt you in a sore spot, I get it. But he’s not here now and he’s probably working at some weird McDonalds in Florida flipping burgers for tourists in Mickey hats.” He tried to lighten the mood and was glad to find it working when Castiel offered a half smile.

“When will I stop thanking you, Dean?”

“When you pay for coffee.”

Castiel gave him a mocking gasp as he threw a fry at Dean’s face. Dean happily caught it and chewed victoriously, happy that he’d cheered the other up.

They ended up talking for a while longer after that, just catching up in reality despite them talking to each other on a daily basis virtually. After a while Cas moved to Dean’s side of the booth to show him a Vine about VidCon, and Dean found himself propping his feet up on the other side and leaning into Castiel. Jo’s words echoed back into his mind and he felt his cheeks grow warm as he heard Castiel’s laugh reverberate next to his ear. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused back on the here and now, laughing along with Cas as he showed Dean his latest prank on Gabriel in the bunker. The moon was just starting to peek out in the dawn of night outside.

Dean didn’t feel like moving away from Cas, but his neck was starting to kink.  Earlier thoughts suddenly coming back into the foreground of Dean’s mind prompted Dean to rest his head on Castiel’s shoulder. Cas had done this once or twice with Dean before, but this was the first time Dean was doing the same. Castiel stopped briefly in his scrolling through videos and offered Dean a sideways questioning glace. What felt like more silent conversations happening in that moment than Dean could ever process, he just remained silent and pulled out his own phone to show Cas. They remained silent as Dean showed him his videos, the only sound made being their silent chuckles against one another.

A few vines later Dean’s phone suddenly went out as a call came in. The caller ID read “Unknown.”

“It’s probably Jess since Sam’s phone has died by now no doubt,” He moved to answer the phone and put it on speaker, not really wanting to move just yet. “Hello?”

“Hey Dean, it’s Jess. Sam had given me your number a while back I hope that’s okay?” The voice rang through on the other end, confirming Dean’s thoughts.

“Hey! Yeah, no worries. So did Sam finally decide to let you go?” He grinned at his phone, catching the reflection of Cas’s face doing the same thing.

“Actually, that’s the reason I’m calling. Sam hasn’t shown up and I was wondering if he forgot?” There was a note of sadness in her voice, but Dean paid more attention as to what she had said.

“We dropped him off over, like, two hours ago there when it was still light out.” Dean raised his eyebrows at his phone _. It’s unlike Sam to stand up such a pretty girl,_ he thought. “He went straight to the library.”

“Well, um,” Jess sounded just as confused as Dean felt, “I’ll walk around the building I guess; but he wasn’t on any of the floors. I’ll look around and call you in a minute.”

“Jess, just stay on the phone, okay? We’re on our way out” Dean moved to get out of the booth, Cas right ahead him as they made their way to the car. Dean must’ve had a panicked look on his face because Cas just held on to his shoulder the entire time. “Tell me what you see,” He tried his best to calm his ever rising voice.

“There’s small alley between the buildings with a couple of peop—Oh God.”

Dean felt his blood run cold upon hearing just how scared Jess sounded. “Jess?! _Jess_! Tell me what you see!” He could feel his own voice wavering as he and Cas stood outside of the shop.

“Dean, get here _now_. There are people here and Sam’s all bloodied and beat up and he doesn’t look good.”


	13. It's Been A Long Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I usually update on Wednesdays, but I don't like cliffhangers either and I just hit 200 followers on Tumblr so I thought I'd give an early holiday present :) This is one of my favorite chapters so I hope you all enjoy
> 
> Warning: language

Dean had never considered himself a sprinter, but damn he should’ve tried out for the track team.

He all but carried Cas to the car and slammed on the gas as he sped to the library, his mind spiraling into “worst case scenario mode.” _Sammy’s hurt and I’m not there. What the hell happened?!_

The library wasn’t too far of a drive away, even less so with how Dean was driving. They nearly crashed into the metered spot just outside of the public seating area, much to the protest of the local pigeons. Dean sprang out of the Impala even before Cas was finished opening the passenger side door, his eyes darting left and right for the alley Jess had mentioned.

“DEAN!” A shriek echoed through the deserted area, stopping Dean’s heart cold as he made a dead sprint to the direction of the sound of Jess’s voice. Sure enough, Cas and he found her cradling the head of a very disoriented Sam as she stood in between him and a group of teenagers. They stood in almost a triangle formation with their leader holding a crisp white rose.

“KC!” Dean spat at the boy in confusion and anger as he ran to shield Jess from the attackers’ eyesight, Cas right behind him. “What the _fuck_ are _you_ doing here!” It wasn’t a question it was more of a snarl.

Still twirling the rose in his hand, KC looked up at the pair, “Well if it isn’t squirrel and wings. Come to tell me off again?”

“Squirrel?” Dean echoed, his mind reeling as he searched for where he had heard that name before. “So you _are_ one of the demons on the Internet.”

“Dean,” Dean turned to see Cas’s dazed expression; it seems he had been doing the same thing. “I think I figured something out.”

“Oh do tell us,” KC resumed to staring at his rose, seemingly bored with the conversation while the kids behind him twitched on their toes.

“’KC’ isn’t your name, is it? It’s an alias,” Cas began evenly. “You’re King Crowley”

“You mean the leader of the dicks?” Dean growled. “You’re the one leading these guys around the Internet picking and threatening like leeches?”

“Ooh, sounds harsh,” Crowley mused. “You would make a great addition to my team, Dean,” He cocked an eyebrow.

Dean restrained himself from going over and kicking Crowley where the sun doesn’t shine. “Why did you hurt Sam?! He’s never done anything to you!”

“Oh sure he has,” Crowley argued. He was acting like a damn politician and it was only pissing Dean off more. “Your little brother only rose to fame because his older brother was in bed with a rock star. Now don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Crowley raised his arms in mock sympathy.

“YOU SON OF A BI—“ Dean hadn’t realized he’d been advancing on Crowley, probably raising his arm, had Cas not restrained him. Had he gone any farther Crowley would’ve just let his minions deal with Dean instead of confronting Dean himself, which probably would not have ended well given that Dean wasn’t thinking straight and there were about 4 guys beside Crowley.

“Looks like the rock star doesn’t want his pet to get hurt, huh?” Crowley continued, a demonic smile playing on his lips. “I believe it is time for us to take leave, but this has been an insightful chat. Ta ta, bedfellows.” Crowley turns and is quickly followed by his troupe. In his rage Dean thought he saw a black haired girl, but he never got a good look at her face to see if he recognized her.

Cas’s hand was still firmly on Dean’s wrist, not allowing him to move any further without meeting resistance. Dean slowly turned to look at his friend once Crowley had disappeared from his view, his vision slightly blurry though Dean was unsure as to why. Without speaking, they went back to a sniveling Jess.

“Sammy?” Dean took his little brother’s head from where it had been sitting on Jessica’s lap. “Dammit, Sammy! Can you hear me? Are you okay?!” He didn’t need anyone to tell him that his voice was cracking violently.

Thankfully Dean saw slight movement under Sam’s eyelids, signaling that at least his brother was alive enough to roll his eyes. A croak escaped Sam’s lips as he let the weight of his head rest in Dean’s hands. “Hey bro quit yelling,” was all Dean could make out before Sam went into a coughing fit.

“We need to get him to the car. Now,” Cas moves to gently raise Sam’s legs from the ground. Jess wraps her arms around Sam’s waist as Dean supports Sam’s upper body. Within minutes Sam is easily laid down in the back seat with his head in Jessica’s lap. Dean closes the door and makes his way to the driver’s seat, his vision continuing to blur as his entire body trembled with rage and guilt. _If I had just made sure he made it into the library..._

He fumbled with the door handle a few times, lost in his own thoughts, when Dean felt his car keys get yanked out from his free hand. Looking up he could just make out the blurry face of a very concerned Castiel as an ocean stared into him. “I’m driving. You move over and close your eyes.” It wasn’t a command per say, but Cas’s voice made it clear that he was not going to take no for an answer. Suddenly feeling drained, Dean did as he was told and moved to the passenger seat, his head moving to look at Sam’s face before he gave Cas directions on how to get back to his house.

 

~

 

Cas had figured he’d one day meet the famous Bobby Singer and be invited to the Winchester house. They’d all sit down and have a nice meal while Dean and Bobby talked about mechanical work. Cas would talk to Sam and Dean and converse with Bobby over what it was like to have an unconventional job. Yeah, he’d somewhat expected to be invited one day, but not like this: speeding back to Sam and Dean’s house with a bloody little brother in the backseat and a clearly distraught older brother that had yet to realize he’d started crying from the very moment he got into the car on the way to the library.

They pulled up to the curb of the Singer/Winchester residence just as Bobby came rushing out of the front door, first aid medical kit already in hand. Apparently Dean’s dad had taught Bobby a thing or two about field medical wounds, and though while Cas didn’t ask, he’d figured Dean would not fair well if he had to take his brother to the hospital and out of his sight.

After carefully moving Sam to his room Cas watched as Bobby applied stints and cleaned him up to the point where Sammy would’ve probably not gotten as much attention had he gone to the hospital. As more time wore on and as the medicine had started kicking in Sam was starting to come around. Jess stayed with him the entire time, shadowing Bobby and fetching anything that Sam needed. Cas and she had made polite conversation for a while after Bobby finished patching Sam up and the younger Winchester had taken a nap, but Cas was painfully aware as to just how little Dean had spoken in the entire three hours that they had been here. Once Jess had been assured that Sam was going to be okay Bobby took her home, leaving Cas and Dean alone to monitor a sleeping Sam.

Dean remained silent the entire ride home with the exception of the occasional direction to get them to the house. During the entire procedure he had lingered on the edge of the bed, not bringing himself up to fully looking down at his little brother. Cas could see how beat up he was by his demeanor, but Dean’s pain wasn’t physical. After Bobby had left them in Sam’s room, Dean silently got up to exit, his face already red and puffy from before. He’d held his tears at bay for a while, but it seemed that time was up.

Cas didn’t follow Dean right away. He knew Dean was searching for solitude, but at the same time Dean was not going to go through this alone. Cas thought back to the alley and Crowley. It hadn’t really clicked in his mind until Dean had brought up demons, and that was when Castiel realized that the man that had somehow evaded the Internet police was currently in front of him and had just severely hurt his best friend’s brother terribly. Dean must be devastated that he hadn’t been there to protect Sam, which must be why he’s practically killing himself about it. Castiel thought through the events before he moved to leave Sam’s room and search quickly for Dean’s just down the hall. Dean was _not_ going to do this to himself. Not if Cas was here.

Finding the right door, Cas propped it open slightly, enough to poke his head through and give his eyes time to adjust to the dark room. Dean had failed to turn any of the lights on when he went in, and by this point the stars were already well up outside, making Dean’s entire room feel as if it was midnight. Hell, it probably was.

Castiel opened the door a little more to let more light in. Dean’s room was pretty simple, with just a dresser, a bed, and a TV. There were no mirrors anywhere, but there were a couple of misplaced clothing articles strewed across the floor. Cas surveyed a little more before he heard the silent sniffles of one older Winchester. Dean was curled up on the floor beside his bed, his face buried in his elbows as his body retracted into itself.

Moving silently so as to not startle Dean with sudden noise, Castiel sat down next to the green-eyed boy on the floor, his eyes looking over Dean’s hunched frame as it racked itself from sobs. Castiel placed a hand at the top of Dean’s back gently; giving time for Dean to recognize that the movement was not dangerous to him. Cas had never seen Dean Winchester cry, so he wasn’t quite sure how Dean would react to any sign of comfort. Sure enough, Cas felt Dean tense quickly upon contact, but after a few still seconds Dean leaned his body into the space between Castiel and the bedpost. He slowly raised his head and turned to Cas, his cheeks now fully glossy from the tears running down his face.

“I wasn’t there, Cas,” his heart shattered upon hearing the sadness in Dean’s voice, breaking twice in those short four words. “Sammy’s in his room hurt with busted ribs and it’s because of me.”

“Don’t think like that Dean,” Castiel whispers. There was barely any background noise and Cas didn’t want to disturb Dean if he spoke normally in such a still place. “This is not your fault. It is Crowley and his ignorant followers.”

Dean didn’t look convinced as he stared at his own hands, which Cas now saw were trembling slightly. Cas continued to massage Dean’s back and moved his free hand to grab Dean’s, squeezing slightly to bring Dean’s attention back to him.

“You don’t understand, Cas,” Dean mumbles through sniffs. “It’s my job to look after him.”

“It’s natural to take on the role of protector as an older brother, Dean. But that does not mean you are accountable for unexpected obstacles.

“No, Cas. You don’t understand,” Dean continues shaking as he burrows deeper between Cas and the bedpost, rendering that hand that had been on Dean’s back motionless as it lay pinned between the bed and Dean’s back.

Castiel gazed upon his emotionally fragile best friend, utterly at a loss for words as to what to say next without knowing the entire story. “Then please tell me what I don’t understand.”

 

~

 

Dean had to wait a few minutes to give his body time to calm down before he could even think about telling Cas about his family. He’d never let himself relive it before, so even thinking about where to begin now was proving extremely difficult and taxing.

After what feels like forever, Dean finally starts. He doesn’t look at Cas, though. He just stares straight ahead at the television that he was always too lazy to put on the dresser.

“Remember at the convention when Gilda was going on about being sorry? I can bet you thought no one was looking at you and thinking about what you were thinking. I know that look you had on your face. That’s not the look you give when you’re trying not to cry when your ice cream spilled. That’s the look you give when you pretend what someone said about you didn’t hurt. That’s the look you put up when you don’t want others to feel bad for you or pity you. That’s the look of a person that doesn’t know how to take down their walls when someone else shows genuine concern anymore. That’s the look of someone that’s lost and wants to stay that way. You wanna know why I know that? Because that’s the look I see in the mirror and I don’t want to ever see it again.” He hears Cas shift, but he’s already started and couldn’t stop. Dean’s voice was barely audible, but with the silence that surrounded him he basically had a megaphone.

“My parents... They were sweet people; Loving; Caring; The kind of helicopter parents that you would’ve been embarrassed about at your kindergarten recital. Mom always had so much light. And Dad... yeah he was stern but fair. If this world had soul mates, that was them.

“Dad worked at an auto company with Bobby and was always well respected by people. ‘You either liked John Winchester or you didn’t.’ That was the company motto.” Dean paused briefly as he remembered memories of playing with tools and parts while his brother worked on the Impala in the garage, his hands almost always somehow covered in grease by the end of the day.

“Yeah, they were good parents. But respect I guess isn’t always valued or whatever. There was this one guy, Gordon. Always in the back, working on his own car instead of actually being an employee. I always thought he had it out for my dad; he thought that, too, but we were wrong. For whatever reason, Gordon wanted Sammy.

“I got home from school one day late and it was already night. Before I opened the door I heard something coming from the back of the house. I look over and see Gordon there, all dressed in black, holding matches next to a gasoline tank right beside Sammy’s window. I d-didn’t know what to d-do, so I banged the side of the house with a baseball bat and called the cops.” Dean had reached that stage in crying where hiccupping was a reflex. He’d never felt so low in his life until this moment.

“The police came and I gave them a statement. Dad said I’d done well. Who knows what would’ve happened had I not been there. He said that Gordon was probably there because John hadn’t given him a raise. I didn’t argue.

“I go to school the next d-d-day feeling like I’d saved my family. They had said to take the day off but I wanted to get Sammy out of the house. I was finally old enough to legally drive so it was the first time I took the car to school. I was pretty proud of myself, really. Like, s-stupid proud, but I never said anything to my friends. I just figured they’d catch Gordon at the shop and he’d be in jail before lunch. When they came into my math class...I d-didn’t know what to feel,” Dean felt his heart had iced over. More movement from Cas’s side but Dean didn’t have the strength to look anywhere, now fully lost in his darkest memories.

“I saw them, Cas. In the morgue. I had to ID the bodies, but they were so burned up I only knew it was them from Mom’s w-w-wedding ring,” Dean choked up. His mind flashed back to Sam, waiting in the police station, completely confused as to what was going on as Dean entered the coroner’s office, his mom and dad, unable to have gotten out of the house in time from the explosion and heat of the fire, and Gordon, singed and beaten but found two miles away after Dean had given another testimony. The first had started from the same location that Dean had seen Gordon not just 24 hours prior. Gordon had called the school asking if Sam and Dean were okay, and since the school at the time thought they had stayed home that was what they told him, thinking Gordon their father. Gordon set fire to a house thinking he’d gotten his two victims and John and Mary had left with the car when in reality it had been completely twisted.

“The official report said that Gordon’s motive was to get my dad, but I’m the only one that knows the truth. I thought I’d been protecting Sammy and my family, but it’s my fault Mom and Dad are gone,” Dean was on the verge of total collapse. If he was going to finish talking he had to do it soon. “Sam’s all I have left, Cas. I _need_ to keep him safe. He’s my brother and I let him down.” What little self control Dean had left crumbled as he broke down, bawling hysterically and uncontrollably. Sam had gotten hurt again under Dean’s watch. Crowley had said it was his fault. Crowley was right. “It’s all my fault.”

Dean went to bend his face back in his hands, but he felt his entire body had changed position as he felt his back supported by a hand and a pair of legs instead of the bedpost. At some point during Dean’s confession, Cas had gotten him to lie down on Cas’s legs and cradled him, listening intently in the darkness. Dean could feel himself surrounded by Cas’s arms, gently rocking him soothingly as Dean continued to sob into Cas’s shoulder. This was so out of character for Dean it terrified him. He’d never felt so raw in his life, let alone let anyone witness his unraveling. Dean sits there in Cas’s arms, thinking back to a time where his mother would do the same thing back when he was younger before Sam was born, and even when he was 16 after he’d found Gordon the first time. This was safety. Comfort. Healing. He can’t make himself look at the true angel that was in front of him out of fear that Cas would disappear, so he settles for closing his eyes and burrowing his face further into Cas, feeling the true wetness of his face and complete exhaustion for the first time all day.

 

~

 

Cas realizes very quickly why Dean had no mirrors in his room. As he listens closely to Dean’s story Cas finds himself shedding tears of his own upon hearing just how painful, how terrified, Dean’s voice had become. Cas got the sense that this was the first time Dean had said those words aloud—in reality—making them public for others to know. Once Dean had made it clear he could barely hold on Castiel took him in his arms, coaxing him to continue, to let it all out completely and entirely.

They’d stayed like that for a while, allowing for the worst of Dean’s sobs to subside. Cas massaged small and slow circles into Dean’s skin, moving up and down Dean’s arm and back to try to warm up his ice-cold body. The only sounds made in the room were of Dean’s muffled sniffles into Castiel’s shoulder; no longer as sporadic as they had been before.

“Anna used to do this for me sometimes,” Cas whispered, Dean’s ear merely inches from his face after 15 minutes of silence. “She was always the person I would talk to whenever the rest of my family didn’t get it. My dad would go on and on about his sermons or speeches and he would expect us to go along; play his game. I did at first, but I quickly realized that his version of life was not for me. Anna was the same as me, but Michael and Lucifer were another story. My older brothers were polar opposites of one another: one was just like Dad and the other only agreed with some of Dad’s teachings. They would get into terrible fights day and night, probably worse than the ones that they read about.”

Cas felt Dean wrap his arms tight around Castiel’s torso, not wanting to stop Castiel from speaking. He continued. “They fought a lot of times about which brother was just, and so naturally they involved me and what side I was on. I didn’t want any part of it, but when I said that to them they would cast me out, accuse me of blasphemy. Anna would always be there to stick up for me and taunt my brothers so that, by the end of the day, we were all laughing together and being actual siblings again. She was the cord that always diffused the bomb. Sure, sometimes it didn’t work, but leave it to Anna to find a way to keep me out of it.

“When she... left, I knew that my friend, my sister, was gone. My brothers knew it, too, and their disputes only escalated up to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore. That was when I left and moved out to the bunker. Dad never saw me and neither did Michael nor Lucifer. I don’t really even know if they know I left, to be honest. I still wonder what would happen if they ever did come to the bunker asking about why left like I did. They were so consumed within themselves and their faith that they forgot to realize that there are more shades in the world than light and dark.” Castiel wasn’t sure why he was telling Dean this, but he felt that Dean needed to know his life wasn’t the only one that was screwed to hell.

After a few pauses where a tense yet comfortable silence settled, Dean’s muffled voice came through. “I’m sorry, Cas,” it echoed into Castiel’s neck, no longer sounding strained but rather exhausted.

Castiel’s mind was not thinking clearly after having relieved memories he rather wished to keep buried, but he did what Anna had done whenever Castiel had to nurse a punch to the head or a black eye. Cas arched his neck to kiss the top of Dean’s sandy hair, absentmindedly playing with one of Dean’s straight curls.

“I understand that you think it is your fault that Sam got hurt, but you need to know that there are things that are out of our control completely. Yes, Sam is hurt, but he is okay, alive, and resting and recuperating. He is still _here_ , Dean.” He presses one more kiss into Dean’s hair with the last few sentences, not caring about how he’d feel about it later. What Dean needed now was comfort; a friend.

Dean remained silent as time wore on, no longer sniffling or crying.

“You’re tired. It’s been a long day.” Castiel took the chance to pull up a movie on Dean’s television screen, setting it to white noise as _The Lion King_ soundtrack began to play. Dean didn’t stir, but Castiel assumed it was probably because the green-eyed boy had already started drifting off to sleep as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played.

“It’s been a long day...”


	14. 20 Seconds to Mars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals is about to start for me so hopefully this isn't affected, but I'd just thought I'd let ya'll know in case chapters don't show up when I want them to.

Sam slowly but surely started recovering as the weeks wore on. He’d suffered some bruised ribs and a really nasty black eye, but after he had gotten cleaned up it was a miracle that nothing had been completely broken. He wouldn’t talk about what happened in detail, only that someone had told Crowley where he and Dean lived and that Crowley had said some “pretty nasty shit” before Sam managed to clock one of the assailants in the balls. Neither Cas nor Dean pressed Sam, but that didn’t stop Dean from being royally pissed off about it.

Bobby called the cops on Crowley and his men and the three boys had to give a statement to the police regarding Crowley’s appearance. Whatever chance they had at catching him disappeared in the fog that Crowley walked away in, unfortunately. He had disappeared from Kansas and reappeared once again on the interwebs continuing to harass some of Cas’s closest YouTuber friends. Cas placed more calls to the organization running the social media giant, and a few days later KingCrowley and many of it’s differing alterations was officially banned from use on the site. Crowley’s henchmen were also severely limited, though not completely annihilated.

Sam felt better after a while of strict bed rest, and though no new videos had been posted that did not stop the YouTube channel from getting more subscribers. Castiel and Dean as well as Charlie and other YouTubers at LHS were constantly talking about Sam online, prompting more subscriber counts and comments from concerned fans from all around. Dean noted just how much it made Sam smile, and Cas was certain that it had some form of placebo healing for Sam whenever he saw his channel pass another subscriber milestone. Cas also showed Sam how to monetize videos since Sam only posted original content, and Dean got Charlie and Becky to keep an eye on forums and chats for any of Crowley’s Demons. With so much increased security on all fronts nothing major happened for a solid two weeks. Meanwhile Sam stayed home and rested while Dean kept everyone updated during classes at school.

Cas practically lived at Casa Winchester since the night Dean poured his heart out to his best friend. They’d woken up with severe numbness in their limbs from sleeping on the floor entangled in one another, but neither complained about the aches and pains. They had formed a profound bond in that night; something that Dean knew would never break. Ever since then whenever Cas would make them food in the kitchen after school or when he would show up waiting by the Impala for Dean to get out of class Dean knew that he had fallen completely for this guy. Something had changed that night. Dean had yet to place a finger on what it actually was, but it both scared and calmed Dean to think that he could be so deeply in love with someone he’s only known for a few months yet Cas knew everything about him.

Cas showing up to school was no longer as big as a festival as it had been the first few times he did it. That didn’t mean Cas’s appearance couldn’t help making as scene. Dean would know when Cas was there from the amount of girls that would walk just behind Dean on the way to the parking lot, phones already out and no doubt recording every detail for their blogs and fan fictions. Dean didn’t care, though. Whenever the girls (and some guys) were there Cas didn’t really seem to have an eye for any of them. Such continued the pattern today as Castiel scanned the crowd that had formed around him and Baby as Dean walked up. His face broke into a wide grin as sunglasses shrouded his eyes. Dean couldn’t deny it had made his heart flutter. In that moment Dean’s mind thought back to that random advice he’d given Sam about Jess and gulped audibly.

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel grinned as he moved to put his arm around the older Winchester’s shoulder. Dean could only cock an eyebrow at him, fully aware at the amount of cameras pointed in their direction.

“Heya, Cas. Long time no see,” he joked. This was obviously a lie since Cas had all but taken over the spare room in Dean’s house. He felt his heart quicken as he blurted out his next line “Listen I have to ask you something.”

“Sure, what’s up?” Castiel tilted his head to one side as his glasses stared at Dean. Painfully aware as to the lack of conversations that had ceased around them so that fans could hear what Dean had to say, he pressed on. _No turning back now_. “I was thinking do you maybe wanna film a video today? For Sam,” he adds quickly after hearing a collective gasp from somewhere behind him.

Castiel didn’t seem fazed by the people around them, clearly more experienced in social presence than Dean. “I’d love to, Dean. But I suggest we continue our conversation in the car for fear of spoilers.”

Dean shot him a thankful look as Cas moved to get into the passenger seat, the surrounding fans taking the polite hint to give Dean room to drive the Impala out of the fanfair.

“Good excuse to leave quickly there,” Cas jabbed at Dean as they drove away from school. Dean was taking the scenic route around Lebanon, not wanting to return home just yet. He had sent a text to Sam just before he’d left school, and Sam’s response had mainly been a collection of Marvel references from his latest Netflix binge as he rested.

“Err, yeah I guess so. I was kinda serious though,” Dean brushed a hand through his hair as he drove them through the downtown area.”

“Oh really?” While Dean couldn’t see Castiel’s face, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him because _did Cas just blush? No that was the sun..._ “I really would love to, Dean. And I’m sure it would make Sam very happy indeed.”

Dean nodded. Sure, that was part of the reason as to why Dean wanted to make the video, but the other part was that Dean just wanted to be around Cas without the eyes (or wiggling eyebrows) of his younger brother trying to get Dean to make a move.

“ _Young love can be a tricky thing, but you gotta know what you want and hope the other person feels the same way.”_

_“Don’t quote me to me, Sammy.”_

“ _I’m just saying_. _All you need is twenty seconds of courage, bro. Just ask him out.”_

The small conversation that had taken place between the brothers after Cas had gone to bed one night replayed in Dean’s mind.

“Did you hear that gasp though,” Dean joked instead. “They probably think it’s more fuel to that ‘Destiel’ fire they’ve got going on.”

Castiel laughed, as he looked at the houses they were now going past. “You’d think it would’ve died down by now had we not been tending the flames.”

It was Dean’s turn to laugh now as he laid one arm across the armrest of the front seat, his hands just reaching behind Castiel’s back. He tried not to think too much on Castiel’s words since his heart was already alight with the thought. If Cas was as nervous as Dean felt, he was a master at not showing it.

“We do need to figure out what to do for this video, however,” Cas continued just as Dean pulled up to a parking spot right outside his house. “What do you have in mind?”

“Shit, I don’t know, Cas. You have that video game series still runnin’?” Dean asks, now fully able to turn and look at his friend beside him without feeling like a 5th grader with his first crush.

“The Midnight _Mario Kart_ has been on the list for a while, yes. We could do that tonight if you want?” Cas asked somewhat nervously, his eyes still guarded by those sunglasses. “We don’t actually _have_ to record at midnight.”

“No that’s fine. Gives it more authenticity, you know?” Now Dean sounded nervous. _Why the hell am I nervous about this?_

“Okay, well we’ve got a few hours to kill and Bobby said he was watching Sam in case anything happens,” Cas continues. “Wanna just drive to my house and hang until it’s time to play?”

“So I finally get to go to this famous bunker?” Dean feigned surprise, the nervousness from before greatly diminished as he joked with his best friend.

Castiel shot him a very comical rendition of Sam’s bitch face #8. “I’ve been living at your house for a while now I think it’s time you at least got to _see_ mine.”

“Lead the way, Angel.” Dean murmured before he’d realized what he’d said.

Castiel froze for a moment before he offered Dean a small smile. Dean knew his cheeks were slightly red, but they only turned redder upon seeing Castiel’s face do the same under his sunglasses.

“Err, I didn’t mean anyt—“

“No it’s fine, Dean. I uh, I do like the nickname. I am just sad I don’t have a nickname for you.”

“Well... how about ‘ _Mario Kart_ Champion,” Dean tried his best to salvage what he thought was an awkward situation even if it hadn’t felt like one. Ever since that night Dean had referred to Cas as an angel in his head more than once anyway. It only shocked him that Cas was okay with Dean calling him that in real life.

“Oh no, that title is still reserved for yours truly.”

 

~

 

Cas spent the remaining hours leading up to midnight showing Dean around the bunker and it’s various rooms and spaces. It was really more of an apartment straight out of the 50s, only with newly modernized furniture and a high definition television screen with video game consoles and camera equipment everywhere. They’d spent their time huddled together watching Netflix (Cas had been bold enough to tweet out a “Netflix and Chill” picture on Twitter showing Dean’s face and the streaming service on the TV, thus spurring Dean’s cheeks to get impossibly red), catching up on the latest Marvel TV series and talking about every subject. Cas was the first to realize that he and Dean didn’t really leave the other’s side for more than to just get up and get something to drink. They’d stay under the covers of a blanket as _Daredevil_ played on the TV, the room dark enough that their faces were illuminated by the glow.

Cas would be lying if he said he didn’t feel content and happy in that moment. Over the span of the time that he’d spent sleeping over at Dean’s house and taking care of Sam, Castiel continued to learn more and more about the Winchesters and their habits. When Sam was feeling up to it he’d make Dean sit in his room while Dean did his homework, Cas sitting beside Dean as Sam filmed in the background. Sometimes Sam would tell them that he’d be filming, other times not so much, as Cas quickly found out after Sam showed him a 20-second video of Cas just staring at a perplexed Dean while they sat on the ground. The guest room was right next to Dean’s room, therefore more often than not Dean and he would spend late nights watching Netflix or doing homework, Cas helping Dean with trigonometry whenever Dean asked.

Over the course of the time Cas had spent there he’d realized that he was in love with Dean Winchester. It didn’t scare him any more now because he’d come to know Dean as a person, a friend, and a confidant. Cas told Dean everything about Anna and his family during that night, even when he was sure Dean had already fallen asleep. He told him more about his brothers and how his family would no doubt not react well to any news regarding Castiel’s coming out, words that only before he was only able to share with his sister in secret. Dean had entrusted Cas with knowledge that no one outside of the Winchesters and Bobby even knew. Dean was Cas’s rock now, and Cas was 99% sure he was Dean’s.

Since they’d been acting this way for a while now Castiel was not fazed by girls’ reactions to what they said to one another or how close they would sit from time to time while they watched TV. When Dean had called him Angel though, that had made Cas’s heart hope that maybe there really was a chance for something more.

Cut back to their current situation with the moon at it’s peak during midnight, Cas was forced to get out of the blanket burrito Dean and he had made to set up the cameras around the video game system.

“Is it time?” A _very_ caffeinated Dean asked from the depths of the blanket. In order to stay up Cas had raided the fridge for red bull. Dean had already had three.

“Yes. Time for me to school you in _Mario Kart_!” Cas called over his shoulder.

“You wish!” Cas hears muffled movement before a large “OOF!” As Dean’s body collides with the floor.

Immediately Cas hits the record button and trains it so that both his face and Dean’s socks poking out from the side of the bed can be seen in the viewfinder. “We’re about to start recording and it’s already off to a great start here at ‘Midnight Mario Kart.’” He smiles. _This is going to be fun._

 

~  


“Nah you have to go with the classics!”

“But the lighter class give you more speed.”

They’d been recording for a little less than 10 minutes and all Dean and Cas had been talking about was choosing the right character to race as. Dean went in favor of the red Italian plumber himself while Cas elected to play as Koopa Troopa on a bike.

“You are _soooo_ gonna get schooled, Novak,” Dean challenged as the first map loaded. The task was to play every map in the game at the astronomically impossible 200cc; the one with the highest points at the end of all races would be declared champion.

“Don’t count your chickens yet, Winchester.”

“Yep, that’s my name! Know why? Because I always _WIN.”_ Dean pushed his shoulder into Cas just as the first race started: Mario Circuit.

“You. Did. Not,” Dean could just _hear_ Castiel dramatically roll his eyes as he blew past Mario on screen. “Koopa will always win on the right bike.”

This banter continued throughout each race:

 

“Don’t fall into the water!”

_“Why not I’ll just swim my way to victory!”_

“Why does Yoshi have to have so many grooves and inundations in its profile”

_“Cas, it’s a circuit not the SATs”_

_“BLUE SHELL FOR THE WIN”_

“NOT ON YOUR LIFE DEAN I HAVE A SUPER HORN”

 

As if by a perfect combination of events, the random generator had saved Rainbow Road for last after two hours of intense gameplay and constant jostling of each other to throw the other off. They were tied for the points, each either having placed first or second in each previous race.

“I am the drift king on this circuit,” Dean played into the camera, flashing a giant grin and knowing full well he’d had too much red bull. He barely registered the clock next to the TV that read it was past 2:30 AM. “Cas I’m sleeping over I’m way to pumped up to drive home,”

Castiel barked out a laugh, equally as full of caffeine as Dean. “I thought that was a given seeing as to how neither of us has probably blinked in the last 20 minutes.”

Immediately both boys burst out laughing, entering that final stage of delirium that can only result from having stayed up for far too long.

The race begins and Dean feels a sharp jab at his controller from Cas as he tried to throw Dean off his game. “NOT TODAY ANGEL OF THURSDAY!” Dean reacts triumphantly as Mario passes Koopa via a speed boost.

They’re nearing the final round of the first lap when Dean returns Cas’s favor and moves to slam into Castiel’s side. The blue-eyed boy dropped his controller for a brief second before he gained a newfound determination in wanting to beat Dean, his eyes alight in a bright electric blue flame.

They were neck and neck leading into the final few turns, each already having figured out the shortcuts to be had in the race. Dean realized on the last couple of button pushes that Cas had a reserved mushroom that he was no doubt was going to use in the final stretch to just out Dean from victory.

“Oh _hell_ no you don’t!” Dean hooks his still bound hands around Cas’s arms so as to prevent Cas from pushing buttons while Dean still could. Cas pushed back against Dean with the same level of force before either realized that they had pushed a little too far.

Dean felt his feet fly over him as he and Cas both topped from the bed and to the side, no longer in camera frame. Dean’s head hit Cas’s stomach as they both collided with the (not so soft) floor, forcing Dean to take a few minutes to close his eyes and stave off the ever-growing headache.

Realizing that Cas no down had a worse ache; Dean opened his eyes and looked around to see when his friend had fallen.

He opened them to find electric blue staring right back at him from less than two inches away. In their battle for victory Dean had somehow managed to land right on top of a very confused and disoriented Castiel that had just hit his head on the floor. That wasn’t exactly what Dean was thinking in that moment, but it was a close second to “ _20 seconds of courage, Dean. They start now.”_

Dean searched Castiel’s eyes as the music from the game continued to play in the background, finally being able to see them from such a close angle. He could now make out the individual hairs that align and collide in the center of the darkness that was Castiel’s pupil. Dean felt like he could drown in them yet never feel as if he couldn’t breath.

_15 seconds..._

“Quite the fall there,” Castiel whispered quietly as his eyes darted between Dean’s, as if searching for the same thing Dean was looking for.

For a moment neither breathed. They just lost themselves in each other as each contemplated finally stepping out from behind their curtain. Dean’s mind went back to Orlando in the hotel room, the adrenaline coursing through their veins like hellfire from the scares having given Dean the excuse to hold Cas’s hand without feeling too self conscious.

_12 Seconds..._

Dean’s heart was about to burst from his chest if he didn’t do something soon. He was pretty sure it could be heard over the sound of the video game.

_8 Seconds..._

Dean’s gaze traveled to Castiel’s lips, noting how soft they looked while still showing every dimple and shade that covered Castiel’s skin.

_2 Seconds..._

In the moments that followed Dean couldn’t register anything but lips on his own as Cas leaned in to close the distance between them. The kiss had been soft, enticing, almost as if asking for permission to go any further.

_1 Second..._

Dean moved a hand to cup pick up Castiel’s head from the floor and deepen the kiss, his mind clear of everything except for the thought of finally communicating to Cas the one thing he’d been the most scared to share. The kiss was intimate, personal. Dean tried to say all that he’d wanted to say to Cas in the few short moments that they were linked together.

_I’m in love with my best friend. I’m in love with you._

Dean felt a hand rest on his cheeks as Castiel cupped his face, leaning in ever so slightly to explore completely unfamiliar territory.

Unbeknownst to Dean, Cas had been thinking the same thing.

 

Seconds; minutes; hours could have passed and Dean would not have been able to tell the difference. He had finally confessed to Cas his deepest secret, and lo and behold Cas hadn’t rejected him. Quite the opposite. After they’d broken apart out of sheer need for air they both stared at the other, each panting out of breath.

“Cas,” Dean needed to say it aloud so Castiel 100% understood.

“Me too,” Castiel cut him off and planted a peck on Dean’s lips one last time. Dean could only open his mouth in a giant open grin, completely elated.

What neither knew was that Gabriel had been right behind the door after they’d broken apart and disentangled themselves from each other and the floor, secretly having been filming them for a while. _Cas had left the damn door open again,_ Gabriel thought. Before he moved to make his leave he takes one last picture of the two of them, now on the bed once again, hands held tightly together as they watched the end of the race unfold.

“Guess you really are a ‘Win’chester,” Castiel murmured in the little space between them, his head on Dean’s shoulder completely having forgotten the cameras that had yet to stop recording. Their characters had finished 11th and 12th since both had failed to cross the finish line, but because 11th place got one extra point Dean had been declared the winner of the tournament.

“I’d say that we both won something.” Dean mused and squeezed Cas’s hand.


	15. Let It Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals suck. This has been a PSA. 
> 
> But this story has reach 1k hits and that boggles my mind so thank you very much everyone :) I tried to make this long in case I can't post in a while. Like I said, Finals suck.

“Okay, so _maybe_ we’re dating.”

“So when did you finally admit to that not-so-new news?”

“Shut up, Dean,” Sam shot his brother Bitch Face #4. “I asked Jess to be my girlfriend yesterday, you happy?”

Dean jabbed at his brother, “It’s about damn time you came clean about Jess! Honestly that girl’s a keeper.”

“Yeah, I think she is,” Sam smiled shyly and nodded.

Dean grinned. Sam’s bruises are almost completely healed and he has been able to get back into the swing of school and recording. They were in the very same academic torture chamber that is school at the moment, waiting in the AV room for a few minutes so as to avoid the waves of exiting high school students for the weekend. Dean was playing with a tennis ball while he had waited for Sam to say goodbye to Jess.

“You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

“Shut up, Dean.” Sam checked his watch. The majority of his bruises were gone, but he still wore a brace on his right hand since it wasn’t mending completely right. “It’s been a ten minutes so the buses should’ve left by now.”

Alright, I’ll tell Cas,” Dean dropped the ball and reached for his phone, scrolling immediately to his and Cas’s conversation. Now that Crowley had shown up at LHS, Castiel had been hesitant to go wait in the parking lot by Dean’s car. Instead he’ll wait in the “incognito” outfit he wears when he doesn’t want to be seen by fans and stands across the street until Dean texts him after school lets out so as to avoid any sightings. For Sam and Dean’s part, they asked to use the cameras in the AV room to film after hours much to the club president’s happiness; therefore they could hide out and wait until the majority of the school was out and the coast was clear before emerging.

“Oh, you’ll tell Cas, huh?” Sam wiggled his eyebrows at Dean, who immediately rolled his eyes without looking at his brother. “And I suppose you don’t have anything _you_ want to tell me about dating?”

Dean could feel his face burn red at Sam’s insinuation. Sam was smart, so of course he would’ve put two and two together when Dean didn’t come home the night he and Cas made the Mario Kart video. Hell, the Destiel shippers online were making gifs of Dean and Cas smiling like goofs at each other at the end of the very same video, both trying (and failing) to explain their made up excuse for falling off the bed and missing the last turn (Cas edited out their holding hands and staring). Sam wasn’t blind, but that didn’t mean Dean wasn’t still nervous about the idea of others making assumptions he didn’t know how to explain yet. Dean hadn’t told Sam about the kiss, but Sam knew his brother. “You mean what are the best date spots? That’s easy, Sammy,” Dean tried, avoiding Sam’s eye.

“ _Dean_ ,” Sam pushed, knowing full well that the older Winchester would try to work his way out of the question otherwise. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to, but would you at least admit I was freaking _right_?”

“We haven’t talked about it, okay?” Dean blurted out before scrunching up his face as if he’d revealed his darkest secret to his little brother. Well, maybe he did, but it was true. He and Cas still hadn’t really talked about what they were, if they even _were_ anything to begin with. Dean never worked up the courage to do anything after Cas had kissed him, so to the outside world Dean figured they still looked like the best friends that they were. Behind closed doors, though, what _were_ they? So how was Dean supposed to answer Sam’s question if he didn’t really know himself? _Yes. I hope so._ _I really hope so._ Were all things that he thought in that moment. “Shut up, Sam,” he responded instead.

“Oh, how the tables have turned here,” Sam’s laughed at his brother’s face. _“So when did you finally admit to the not-so-new news?”_ he mimicked Dean’s deeper register, earning him a hard punch in the shoulder as they got up from where they had been sitting.

They started making their way out of the AV room when they heard a loud clatter behind the stack of film equipment. Immediately Dean whirled around and pushed Sam behind him and towards the exit, arms poised and ready in the event of any form of attack.

“Ruby?” He called as the familiar black haired girl emerged from the pile of now broken disks. “What are you doing here after hours?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Winchester,” Ruby shot him a devilish grin, which did not alleviate the sudden nausea he felt. Ruby had been more Sam’s friend than Dean’s, but Dean and she had never really gotten along whenever they had to work together on school projects. “Well, it’s been fun but I’ve gotta run!” She hurried quickly past the brothers and out the door, not allowing for any time for them to respond.

“Was that not weird to you?” Dean turned to his brother, who had tensed upon seeing Ruby emerge. His brother shrugged before making his way to the door.

“She was on AV once I think, but I want nothing to do with her.” Dean let it slide after that once they made it to the car, a camouflaged Cas already somehow in the back seat.

“Heya, Cas,” Dean beamed at the jumble of sweater that is the YouTuber. He gave Cas a sideways hug as he put Sam and his school bags in the backseat, pretending as if he hadn’t seen Sam’s knowing grin trying to get his attention.

“Afternoon, Dean; Sam,” Cas’s muffled voice slowly became clear as he disentangled scarves from his body, revealing his winter eyes that reflected the cold air that was starting to take over Kansas. “How are you feeling, Sam?”

“Almost brand new!” Sam raised his brace to show Cas the exception. “I’ve gotta get home to do homework, though, so I won’t be able to stay to talk much with you guys.”

“Bro, it’s the weekend,” Dean chided, backing out of the lot as he spoke. “You’ve got, like, three days.”

“Yeah, but I like to enjoy my weekends, which is why I do homework on Fridays,” Sam pointed out defensively. “And besides, I thought you guys would like some alone time.”

Dean’s foot found the brakes rather quickly as the car came to a abrupt halt, sending Sam’s head into the side of the car and Cas’s forehead crashing into Dean’s. All three boys cried out in pain as each rubbed his head.

“M’bad, guys,” Dean massaged his temple and proceeded to drive home with a mounting headache.

When they had gotten to the Winchester house, Sam made both Dean and Castiel stay in the car. “How about you both just spend the day at the bunker? I’ve gotta help Bobby with some housework anyway.” That was an obvious lie and Dean knew it.

“All right, Sam, but call if you need anything,” Cas responded before Dean would get a witty retort in. Cas sounded like a concerned mother as he moved to sit in Sam’s spot in the front of the car.

“Yeah, yeah, just enjoy the night.” Sam waved them off as Dean’s foot found the gas peddle this time a little too fast, forcing Cas to grab Dean’s arm tightly as the car sped up.

“M’bad, Cas,” Dean couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh. His conversation with Sam earlier had gotten him on edge about his and Cas’s relationship status, so sue him if he was jumpy whenever anything was implied.

“It’s fine,” Castiel smiled and softened his grip on Dean’s arm, though he didn’t retract it. Dean didn’t object as he made the now familiar route to the bunker just off the Novak residence. _What_ are _we?_

 

~

 

“Home sweet home!” Dean bellowed into the expanse that was Castiel’s bunker. Castiel couldn’t help but laugh as they walked down the flight of stairs that lead to the main area that housed books and other memorabilia.

“Why is this place so big, Cas?” Dean turned around and walked backwards as they made their way to Castiel’s room on the other end of the hall. “I mean, it’s just you here.”

“My family has had the property since before the world wars and it was also used as a community retreat area in the event of bombings. Mainly though it was a research place with a bunch of radios and media equipment for journalists,” Castiel explained, eager to share information he had dug up about the place. Back when he lived at the main house with Anna he always questioned his father about the bunker, but his father would never give him information except for “That place is off limits to you, son!” Just goes to show how well Castiel followed orders.

“Awesome,” Dean gaped. Castiel knew that Dean was still relatively new to the bunker, so that didn’t stop him for always trying to learn more about it. Sam was the same way, one time disappearing into one of the many rooms of the place for the entire weekend.

“Yeah, it’s just for me now. Don’t have to pay rent or worry about bills so it’s my own little ‘fortress of solitude,’” Cas joked.

“Dude, this is _so_ not _little,_ Superman,” Dean quipped back, finally getting to Castiel’s room and flopping down on the bed in front of the TV. “Where’s Gabe?”

“He went out partying or something a couple of days ago and said his phone got stolen, so I haven’t heard much from him except for a continuation of drunk calls from payphones and him showing up at three AM.” Castiel moved to lie down next to Dean, his stomach down on the mattress as he propped his elbows up. Dean was in the same pose only he was lying on his back with his hands behind his head. Castiel realized Dean was thinking more than he was listening to Cas. “Dean?” He moved to rest his hand on the green-eyed boy’s shoulder to get his attention. “Is something wrong?”

The other boy remained silent for a minute, most likely collecting his thoughts, Cas resolved. “What are we, Cas?” Dean responds quickly and nervously.

Castiel stiffens, unsure about how to answer the question. “I suppose you’re referring to a couple of days ago?” He held Dean’s eye contact to make sure he was reading the situation right.

“Yeah. I mean, we haven’t talked about it or anything and we’re always with Sam so I haven’t really brought it up, but Sam said that he and Jess were finally dating and then he askedmesomestuffandIdidn’tknowandwe’reneveralonetotalk—“ Castiel knew that when Dean’s voice sped up it meant Dean was on the verge of rambling his thoughts.

“What did you tell Sam?” He tried to keep Dean’s head level, a hint of nervousness creeping into his own voice. During the entire scene a few days ago all that was going through Castiel’s mind at the time was colors, specifically the varying shades of green that Cas could now finally see up close. He wanted to look closer, _feel_ closer, and before he knew what was going on he was kissing his best friend. It had been instantaneous for Cas; he knew right then that he wanted to be more than friends, but neither Dean nor himself did anything else when other people were around.

“I told him that we hadn’t talked about it,” Dean looked away, slightly uncomfortable with the situation. “And it’s true, I mean, we-we _kissed,_ and then...” he fell silent.

“And then what,” Cas whispered, more as a push for Dean to continue than as a question.

“And then I realized that I didn’t want to just be your friend, Cas.” Dean confessed, angling his body so that his head rested on a propped up arm. Castiel could see the determination in Dean’s eyes again along with the fear of any form of rejection. “I’m sick of hiding it anymore.”

Cas regarded Dean’s probing eyes, a small smile slowly creeping onto his face with every second that pas, conversely putting a concerned look on Dean’s face when Cas didn’t respond immediately.

“Do you remember what I said after we kissed?” Cas whispered, the smile turning into a smirk.

Dean searched Castiel’s face for any sign of mockery but found none, his eyes stayed motionless as he went back to search the memory that Cas was trying to get him to realize. “To be honest it’s kind of a blur after that,” he admitted sheepishly.

“I said,” Cas moved closer to Dean, “’ _Me too.’”_ and closed the distance between them, savoring in how easily their lips fused together. Dean reacted quickly and angled his head to deepen the kiss, a small gasp escaping his lips before he pulled away much to Castiel’s silent protests.

“Cas, will you go out with me?”

“We’ve already been on dates, Dean. We just never called them that. Will you just skip to the part where you ask me to go steady?” Castiel moved to hold Dean’s hand and squeezed.

“Official dates, then; starting now,” Dean smiled and moved closer to wrap his other arm around Cas, burying his face in Castiel’s sweater as he hugged Castiel tightly. “You’re a real angel you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” Cas smoothed Dean’s hair and coaxed the Dean out of his shoulder so as to properly kiss the green-eyed boy. In that moment Castiel was thanking Sam for staying home because Dean had been right. They’d never really been alone for a while. There was always someone watching.

“CASTIEL NOVAK!” A voice bellowed from the entrance to Castiel’s room, immediately breaking Cas and Dean up and sending them scrambling in alarm away from the voice. After Castiel could properly open his eyes he gaped in shock.

“Michael?”

 

~

 

A seething Michael Novak stood at the doorway of Cas’s bedroom, his chest puffing with a phone in his hand. Dean moved to stand up with Cas following suit, his shock slowly turning into confusion.

“What are you doing here, Michael?” Cas sounded incredulous, which made since considering Castiel only ever really talked to Gabriel. He hadn’t seen Michael since he had left the main house.

“What. Are. You. Doing.” Michael spoke with a measured anger, each word punctuated with rage. “You left your door open and I find you with another _boy?_ ”

“Whoa hey n—“ Dean steps forward.

“HOLD YOUR TONGUE,” Michael interjects, his eyes still fully concentrated on Castiel. “And here I thought that the picture had been faked; that you would never do this to your family.”

“What picture?” Castiel asks, moving slightly ahead of Dean to shield him from further abuse. “Michael, what are you doing here?”

“A call. Sent me a picture of you and this boy,” He motioned to Dean in disgust, “holding hands with a caption saying that you had jumped off the reservation for good. Castiel, have you not learned about what Father has spoken about?” Michael’s words were meant to cut into Cas, and they were working. Castiel’s family was extremely religious, and here was the final confrontation.

“Who called you? Who sent you the picture?” Castiel spoke quickly, knowing full well that Michael’s temper was about to boil over.

“He said his name was Dean Winchester and he was going to steal you away from you family,” Michael now trained his eyes on Dean, who was now infinitely confused.

“What? I didn’t send you anything! We’ve never met!” Dean spoke defensively, utterly at a loss for words after that. Who could have gotten a picture of them together? The only time they’d ever been this close was in Castiel’s bunker...

“Gabriel said his phone got stolen,” Castiel pulled Dean out of his thoughts and back into the precarious situation at hand. “He comes in here a lot and he’s the kind of guy to take a stalker picture of me for fun, but he’d never do this. This was _not_ Dean, and Gabe would never send that to you.”

“You’ve been had, Michael,” Dean added, putting the dots together as Cas explained.

“I realized that it wasn’t you by your accent, _Dean,_ ” Michael sneered. “Even if you didn’t call me yourself the fact remains that what I see before me is blasphemy, Castiel.” Michael did not back down, rather he began to advance. Castiel held his ground standing in front of Dean as he stared down (or in his case up since Michael was slightly taller) at Michael. “Your choices have damaged this family, you need to understand this. This is not your path, brother. It is high time to came home where you belong.”

“I don’t belong there, Michael,” Dean had never heard Cas’s voice sound as defiant and authoritative as it did in that moment. Sweet Cas had left the building for a now, apparently. “You, Lucifer, Raphael, Dad. None of you ever really knew me and always wanted me to be something I wasn’t. You wanted me on your side. Lucifer was on another. Why can’t you just accept that _I’m on my own side._ I suggest you leave quickly before this gets out of hand.”

Michael listened to Castiel and never looked away from Castiel’s piercing gaze. Dean watched in apprehension as the situation unfolded in front of him after Castiel had finished. There was a brief moment of silence as Castiel’s words sunk into Michael’s mind.

And then Michael clocks Castiel with his fist.

 

**...**

 

Dean watched as Cas crumpled down on the floor, his hands shielding his face as the first traces of blood started to fall. Dean immediately reacted after hearing Cas’s pained cry and moved to stand between Michael and Cas just as Michael started to move his foot backwards in a preemptive kick. Right before Michael’s foot was about to come down Dean threw his body in front of Castiel, his stomach and ribs receiving the brunt of the blow. Pain instantly shot through Dean’s entire system as he struggled to breathe, but that wasn’t about to stop him.

“You son of a bitch,” Dean manages to make out, his breathing slowly returning. His muscles reacted upon seeing Michael’s incoming fist. Dean blocked the blow with one arm and moved to let Michael meet his infamous right hook. Dean punched Michael just below the jaw, most likely popping it out of place judging from the crunch that he heard in the still room.

Michael dropped to the ground holding his face just as Dean was moving to carry a somewhat delirious and semi-conscious Castiel out of his room. Making sure that Cas was conscious enough to stay in the hallway Dean went back to the room to confront a still incapacitated Michael.

“Listen here you piece of shit,” boy was Dean was pissed off to high heaven. “The guy you just knocked unconscious? That’s your BROTHER. He’s supposed to be FAMILY, dammit!. Cas has been in a world of hurt while he lived with you. FAMILY does _not_ do that to _FAMILY._ ” Michael’s jaw was starting to swell as he regarded Dean, his eyes spiteful. Dean continued. “Where were you for Cas when your sister passed, huh? You weren’t there for him during that. You were never there for him _at all._ Instead you just decided to take that opportunity to wage your war and use him as bait. _”_ Dean moved to get closer to Michael and was slightly pleased to see Michael back away from him.

“You have _zero_ right to tell Cas what to do, _especially when you never thought to help him or be there for him as a brother._ Dean moved back to the exit before looking back at a very angered Michael. “Maybe if you even cared enough to look at all that Cas has done for others and what he continues to do for them you’d stop thinking about yourself for one goddamn minute and started thinking about being there for him. Now you are going to answer some questions before I take Cas to the hospital,” Dean lowered his voice to make sure Michael knew he wasn’t playing around.

Michael had managed to prop himself up, his hands holding the side of his face that Dean had punched. “The caller,” Dean declared, “British accent?”

Michael nodded.

 _Dammit_. _Crowley._ “Does your dad know?”

Slight hesitation before Michael nodded once. _Shit. Dammit..._

“The picture, are you the only one that has it?”

Michael shook his head. _Well this keeps getting better and better..._

“Tell me who else has it besides Crowley.”

Michael couldn’t speak without damaging his mouth more, but he merely pointed at the computer. Dean cursed once more. Crowley had leaked the picture online no doubt to fuel as many lies as he could out of it and try to blackmail Cas somehow, though how Dean wasn’t sure. Crowley revealed Cas to his family without Castiel’s permission and now Castiel was paying for it.

“Cas is staying with us until you get your shit together and Crowley is stopped for good,” Dean speaks evenly, making sure Michael heard every syllable he uttered.” You wanna help? Start by going online and actually learning about your brother. He’s been more open on there _saving people_ than he ever was with any of you.” With nothing else left to say, Dean left the doorway and moved to pick up Castiel in his arms, the other boy’s arms falling limp to his side.

Dean managed to get the semi-conscious boy into the passenger seat before Cas passed out for good. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and Dean was now fully aware of the pain in his abdomen and the hand he had punched Michael with. The scraping sound had apparently come from both Michael’s jaw and Dean’s knuckles as he saw the drying blood on his hand and could feel slightly fractured bone.

“We’re gonna get you home, Cas,” He murmured as he sped off in the direction of the Winchester house.

 

~

 

Castiel felt his body being carried and placed in a vehicle, but his mind was someplace else. Vaguely he was able to piece some events of what had transpired. His family now officially knew about him, and to say they were discontent is an understatement. Cas felt his eye swell shut as his brain suffered one of the worst migraines Castiel had ever experienced. The movement to the car had caused his brain to see stars and before he could think anymore his mind went black.

 

 

Castiel woke up to the sound of Sam’s ripping gauze and cutting strips of bandages before he felt something cool on his head. _What happened..._ He groaned when the pain returned.

“Heya, Cas,” He heard Dean’s concerned voice before he opened his eyes _._ He felt as if the room was spinning when he attempted to steer his head in the general direction of Dean’s voice. He groaned once more until he felt a hand on his face.

“Whoa, hey don’t move too much. You got knocked out pretty bad. Probably a concussion, too,” Dean moved his hand so that Cas could put weight onto it without it hurting his head. Once he got full control of his eyelids again Castiel opened them to find that he was on Dean’s bed at the Winchester house. His head was bandaged up and he could feel slight discomfort in his elbow from where he must have fallen on top of it.

Cas looked up at Dean and found Sam bandaging up Dean’s torso, dark bruises just barely peeking out of the mass of gauze that covered his abdomen. There was some more on Dean’s right hand, but apart from that he looked okay. “Dean, what?” Castiel croaked.

“Crowley.” Dean stated. “He must’ve gotten your brother’s phone and called Michael in my name. Sam hear filled in the rest once he saw us,” Dean motioned for Sam to continue.

“There was a girl that we spoke to before class let out in the AV room, Ruby. I didn’t tell you guys this before because I didn’t want to believe it, but she was with the crew that jumped me at the library.” Sam spat his words as if they tasted vile. He spoke to Cas. “I was at home when Meg called saying that Ruby was at a party with your brother and stole his phone. She must’ve found the picture and given it to Crowley to call and use it as bait for Michael.” Sam’s voice sounded flat as if he had been utterly betrayed. Ruby had been a nice friend to Sam, so it made sense that he felt that way about this new development.

“Point is, Cas,” Dean continued, “Crowley’s an ass and we’re gonna get him one way or another.”

“What about Michael?”

“He uh... had to go to the dentist,” Dean joked halfheartedly, and in that moment Cas understood why Dean was so badly bruised. He must’ve fought with Michael just after Castiel got hit. “Cas... he said your dad knew.”

Castiel remained silent. So his family finally knew something he had only been able to share with Anna. “Well at least they can’t kick me out,” he murmured as he stared at the ceiling, his brain hurting from having his brain work again.

Dean huffed a laugh before he placed his good hand in Castiel’s.

“I’ll let you two be now that your injuries are clean.” Sam moved to pick up the leftover gauze and supplies as he headed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Dean moved to lie down next to Cas, shifting slowly so as to not aggravate his protesting body any more than he had to. Once he was staring at the ceiling as well, both boys remained silent. Neither wanted to talk about what had happened anymore beyond the general information. The feelings were still there, raw and present. Castiel didn’t want to delve into what he thought his family must be doing. For the first time in a while Castiel wished that Anna were with him. She would have figured out a way around Crowley and their family in seconds.

“You’re thinking about her aren’t you,” Dean’s voice broke the silence.

“Mh-hmm,” Castiel knew if he spoke it would not only hurt his brain but it would also come out in a guttural crying mess. He could already feel the tears biting at his eyelids as memories and hurt poured into his mind.

He felt his hand being squeezed as Dean sat up to turn the TV on. “Cas,” he whispered. “I know you don’t want to talk about it. I don’t either. Our lives may feel like shit right now and it may feel like the world’s out to get us, but let’s leave it for tomorrow and just _be_ for tonight.”

Dean said nothing about Anna and only moved to massage Castiel’s thumb in circles, slowly calming him down. In that moment Castiel realized that maybe if Anna wasn’t with them she had to have guided him to Dean. He realized that he was sniffling as tears trailed down his face with the help of gravity. Dean moved closer to prop Castiel’s head up so they could both watch the television that had been queued up to a Netflix movie. He moved to brush the tears off of Castiel’s face, remaining silent as he pressed “play” on the movie.

Neither spoke after that. How could they? Tomorrow would mark the start of the hunt for Crowley and to pick up the mess he made, but Castiel and Dean would figure it out together. Right now, though, this was their moment. Right now, they could just _be._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started a Please Subscribe tag on my tumblr. I tag "ps" on anything that reminds me of the story so if you wanna check that out you can. :) My tumblr is cardinaleyes so feel free to say hi!


	16. Walking in the Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's only really about a chapter and an epilogue left for this.... Sorry if it's kinda sudden but my goal was to have this done by the winter finale of Supernatural airing right now. I was about a week off but the last three parts are going up tonight as my Christmas present to you all :) Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts with me.

Dean’s foggy head rebooted upon hearing the sound of phone tones going off repetitively. _Who needs alarm clocks when you get notifications?_ He groaned as he felt the newly renewed pain and numbness from having fallen asleep in an awkward position last night. His attempt to move earned him a jab of pain shooting through his spine making him realize that Cas’s head was on his stomach, eyes still closed in sleep. They had stayed up watching Netflix until apparently they’d both knocked out for the night. Sure enough the “Are you still watching?” screen was displayed on the TV. Dean felt Cas shift on top of him, earning more shots of pain, but Dean wasn’t about to complain.

“Morning, Simba,” Dean whispered, his good hand squished underneath the blue eyed boy. “Why is your phone going off this time?”

“That’s not just m’phone,” Castiel’s sleepy voice responded. Dean looked over to the table where Sam had put their mobiles the night before. Sure enough, both of them were blowing up viciously with notifications. It was a twitter bombardment courtesy of the fans.

Newly received information began returning to Dean as he remembered that Crowley had leaked a picture of them online. He reached for both of their phones (much to Cas and his body’s protests) and sure enough the “Destiel” shippers were, to put it mildly, losing their shit.

“I think we need to address this,” Castiel looked at Dean with a sleepy smile as he moved his head to peer over Dean’s phone after having looked at his own.

“I’m surprised my phone hasn’t exploded yet.” It wasn’t just Twitter. Tumblr; Vine; their YouTube Facebook pages; all were receiving messages at the same time. Neither boy could access his phone before a new notification would come in. They could barely read what fans wrote before it was gone into the empty.

“They’re just a bunch of variations of ‘I knew it.’ Looks like the cat’s outta the bag,’” Dean laughed. He realized that the backlash that Crowley thought he was going to start by putting the photo online backfired on him. It was a deal Crowley hadn’t expected to have turn out in Cas and Dean’s benefit.

“Looks like they did before we did.” Cas snuggled into Dean a little more, sending another round of both warm and pain since they were both still hurt. “What do you say we tell them?”

Dean tensed. Sure, it was one thing to have each other be committed to this thing that they had, but it was another of going public. With Dean and Castiel’s personas being so publically well known online it was even more of a concern, but Dean recognized the importance to take a stance on something that apparently a lot of people are invested in. He scrolled through his feed on Twitter at the amount of people tweeting him the now infamous picture with the same three words. Finally able to see the picture in all its glory Dean couldn’t help but smile at how he and Cas were just holding hands, the goofiest of grins plastered on their faces. He only pulled himself out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of the camera going off.

“Shall I do the honors? Officially?” Castiel moved to show Dean his phone screen, displaying Dean’s content smile as he stared at his phone. It was a close up of Dean’s head and his good hand, so there were no bandages in sights on Dean’s part. Castiel already had it opened up on instagram, only asking for Dean’s permission to post it.

Dean nodded. “Screw Crowley trying to mess with our lives right now. Hold on.” Dean scrolled to the Vine app and put it on the front-facing camera before hitting record, his courage and happiness mounting with every passing second.

“I have a boyfriend. You may know him as the Angel of Thursday. Angel, say hi.” Dean moves the camera to show Castiel feigning sleep on Dean’s bandaged shoulder, knowing full well what Dean was doing but nevertheless shy.

“Hello, it’s me,” Cas sings drowsily through Dean’s muffled arm before the 6 seconds expired. They replay the video and laugh at Castiel’s improvised version of the Adele song before put their phones next to each other, fingers poised on the “publish” icon.

“Ready?”

“Yes, Dean.”

Both click publish and then ditch their phones facedown and on vibrate so as to avoid the notifications. It’s still the weekend and so they have the entire day to heal and rest. Dean was damn sure that they were going to make the most of it. As both boys curled into one another and continued their previously paused Netflix marathon, neither boy realized that Sam had been at the door and had seen Dean record the video.

 

~

 

Seeing Cas and Dean like that, Sam quietly left the doorway and retreated to his room, his determination rising as he set up his computer to do a YouTube live stream roughly twenty minutes later. Dean and Cas hadn’t checked their phones since they’d left them face down, but in the process of coming out as a couple they’d forgotten that they were both covered in bandages (Dean had failed to move expertly around that detail like Cas had). This prompted understandably concerned fans to tweet out (almost scary quick) to Sam and the channel asking if his brother and Cas were okay. Knowing he had an obligation to set things straight and a newfound determination, Sam quickly sent out a tweet using the YouTube account handle with the url link to the stream. In less than a minute he had over 300,000 people and counting watching the live stream.

“Hey everyone, this is Sam here.” He paused briefly to verify that comments were coming in so as to know if he was being seen. “Let me start off by saying that it’s scary just how quickly y’all respond to a post from Dean or Cas on any social medium,” He smiles at the camera. “I know a lot of you saw that Dean and Castiel looked pretty banged up. They’re both resting so forgive them for not checking their phones thanking you guys for your support, but that’s why I’m here to explain to you some things.”

Sam told the viewers everything, noting how the viewer count rose with every second and peaked at just over 2.5 million by the time he was done about 30 minutes later. It felt like just a few days ago he’d just reach his first subscriber goal and now he’s about to hit 200,000, his views more than tripling that across all boards. _Social Media is a scary thing..._

Sam told them about Dean and his family, about Crowley and Cas from before Dean had met Cas, about what really happened at O-Con, about Dean and Cas unknowingly falling for each other so quickly that it was almost like a telenovela, how stupid they were for not acknowledging it sooner, and finally about Crowley leaking the picture to Cas’s family and the resulting altercation.

“Crowley wanted to hurt Cas by getting to his family,” Sam continued, “but I think what Crowley didn’t realize is that family doesn’t end in blood. If that were the case than Dean and I would have been orphans, but we weren’t. We were loved. We’re all fine now after a lot of cleaning up, but that still leaves Crowley and his self-identifying ‘demons.’ We’ve talked to the police several times on the occasion, but every time he shows up somewhere he’s gone within moments and the police are left with nothing to go on. He’s been spotted here in Lebanon recently so we think he’s still here,” Sam pauses, collecting his thoughts for his final words. “I wanted you all to know what was really going on and to please not worry about us. We’re still here fighting. If you do see Crowley appear anywhere, though, please let us know or call the police if you are absolutely sure. Thank you all for sticking with us through this. I know it means the world to Dean and Cas. The only good thing I can say that came from all of this is that it gave my brother the push he needed to man up and ask Cas out, but he hasn’t told me that in so many words,” he finished lightheartedly, not wanting to reveal any more without his brother protesting. “That’s it for me, but thank you all once again and always keep fighting.”

 

~

 

Neither Dean nor Cas knew anything about the video until the day after Sam had posted it, when their door was unceremoniously opened by Charlie as she stumbled in, two police officers right behind her. Cas had slept over once again and borrowed some of Dean’s clothes to wear around the house. He even stole Dean’s Nikes, which only caused Dean to rebel and wear Cas’s Adidas.

“Charlie?” Cas called from where he had been sitting at the dining table. He had been helping Dean with math since he had a test the following morning, though both knew that Dean was not going to be going to school. “What are you doing her— Hello, officers,” Castiel went from elation to polite content upon seeing the two women at the doorway. Bobby had left the three of them alone and Charlie had been given a key in the event of an emergency. Apparently, this sufficed.

“Heya Cassie! _Charlene_ here thought she ought to give you some important news!” Charlie pointed to herself and Cas had to force himself to not roll his eyes in front of law enforcement. Charlie was using her techy alter ego again.

“And what is that, Charlene?” Dean smirked at the red head who at this point had set her computer equipment down opposite them on the table.

“A lot of people have been phoning in across Kansas and I managed to find the address of one Fergus McCloud.” Charlie beamed as she pulled up her computer screen to show a red dot on a hotel at the opposite end of Lebanon.

“A lot of people?” both Cas and Dean echoed, clearly confused. Sam, who had been in the kitchen just overlooking the table, then piped it.

“Have you guys been online, like, _at all_ since yesterday?”

Both boys hesitated before shaking their heads. Truth be told, Cas had never been less than an hour apart from the Internet. He hadn’t realized he’d yet to look at it in over 24 hours until that moment. Guess he had other priorities...

“You’re kidding... A YouTube Internet star that hasn’t been online all day is practically unheard of, let alone the _biggest_ YouTube Internet star...” Sam huffed out a laugh before moving to pull up the video he had made the day before on Charlie’s computer screen. He turned to Dean; “You failed to realize that both you and your boyfriend are covered in gauze so it was up to me to calm the panic that was growing online after.”

Cas saw Dean turn red from embarrassment as the realization dawned on him. Cas briefly thought it had been because Sam had called Cas Dean’s boyfriend but quickly realized that it had been because he showed them all bruised and in pain. “M’bad, fans,” he muttered as Sam showed them the live stream video.

“Ever since that video was posted the station has been getting a lot of calls about a British man in evening wear walking about,” the policewoman spoke up. Her nametag read “Jody.” “We’ve been interviewing some former members of this cyber bullying ring that you may know when Charlie came barging into the station demanding to see us,” she motioned to herself and her partner, Donna.

“They talked to Meg and Ruby while I was at the library,” Charlie continued, eager to tell the facts that led to their current situation. “Ruby stayed tight-lipped about everything until they had to detain her for aiding and abetting. They’re taking this seriously after Sam’s video and the support from literally _millions_ of fans. Meg told them all that she knew about Crowley and told them that the reason they wouldn’t find him is because Crowley wasn’t his real name. That got me thinking about his accent and how it didn’t sound completely British but maybe still in the same area. A few clicks later and voilà!” Charlie changed the screen to show them the hotel page again, “The address of the hotel where one Fergus McCloud, A.K.A King Crowley, is staying while he was in town.”

“Remind me to never get on your dark side, _Charlene_ ,” Dean shot her an approving smile.

“Have you gone to the hotel?” Cas asked the officers.

“There’s a squad heading over there right now. We spoke to the hotel manager and he had said that McCloud was still paying for the room and was last seen this morning, so we believe that he has yet to leave. Of course, there is a strong possibility he also saw this video therefore we’re moving quickly.”

“When will you know?”

“Oh, in about twenty minutes, give or take,” Donna spoke with a lighthearted smile. “We’re here with you in the event that we don’t find him there. You’ve both been labeled as important personnel as a result of your social media status, and since this ringleader would be looking at not only cyber damaging charges but also multiple accounts of physical assault, it was on our best authority to stay with you both until this Crowley is caught, don’t cha know,” Donna spoke to them as if they were all old friends, immediately calming Cas.

“Will we get to see him?” Dean’s determined voice broke the easy atmosphere. Cas looked to him and realized Dean had been twitchy since the first mention of Crowley’s name.

“Dean,” Cas placed a hand on Dean’s back to try to calm him down. It somewhat worked, but the green-eyed boy still didn’t seem too happy. He lowered his voice so only Dean could hear, which is saying something considering he entire room had been relatively quiet, the only sound being the appliances and the background nose of the television screen. “We don’t have to. Crowley thought he hurt us irrevocably, but he failed. Let’s just leave it at that so he doesn’t see how worked up you are over this. He might just think he won.”

Dean briefly nodded, seeming to think over Castiel’s words before he picked up his pen again and twisted it around his fingers. “That still doesn’t mean I’m not pissed at what he did to you.”

“He didn’t do anything, Dean. So what if he told my family? They were bound to find out anyway, and it’s not like they can kick me out,” Cas reiterated his previously stated point.

Just then they heard a knock on the door before Jody moved to open it.

“Um, hello. Is this the Winchester residence?” a voice that made Cas’s veins run cold.

No doubt seeing his reaction, Dean cupped his face to get him to look at the older Winchester. “Cas, what’s wrong?”

It took a moment for Castiel’s brain to work when the two people finally came into the room.

“Castiel.”

“Dad?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. I don't like cliff hangers either. Hence the holiday present of the next chapter already ready for you. :)


	17. Carry On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been making edits with the songs that I'm using as titles. They've been playing around in my head all day lol.

If Dean had any more surprises today he was going to implode.

Castiel had reacted immediately upon hearing the voice of the person at the door, and by the time he walked into the dining room area just in front of Michael Dean could feel that Cas had broken out into a sweat of nervousness. He let go of Castiel’s face and moved to massage Castiel’s hands below the table unseen, trying his best to gauge the situation while still calming the other boy down as best he could.

“Hello, Castiel. It is good to see you again.” Cas’s father smiled at Cas, though Dean thought that Cas was too shocked to respond. He had every right to be, in all honesty, especially considering that the last time Cas had seen his dad it had been the night Anna passed.

“Hello, sir,” Dean spoke after it had been clear Cas wasn’t about to. “Not that I’m happy to meet you or anything, but can I ask what you’re doing here?”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Dean Winchester. My name is Carver Novak, but please call me Chuck.” Chuck offered them an awkward smile once again, this time Dean returned it out of politeness. Chuck turned to Sam “I came here after having seen your latest video.”

Sam gulped, somewhat unsure of how to act in the presence of Chuck but nevertheless attempting. “Then I’m sure you’re up to date with what’s been going on...”

“I am.”

Just then a call came from Jody’s phone, breaking the tension and causing all in the room to jump.

“Sorry about that, I must take this quickly. Donna, why don’t you stand by the door?” Jody motioned for her partner to leave the scene. Dean knew it was Jody’s way of giving all of them privacy. He liked her already.

“I’ll take that queue to go talk to Donna about the investigation,” Charlie quickly grabbed her computer and followed Donna out of the dining area, also aware of the delicate situation.

Once they were cleared of the room it was just Sam, Dean, Cas, Michael, and Chuck.

“Where’s Lucifer?” Cas seemed to have found his voice again, his hand a vice grip in Dean’s underneath the table. Cas needed a ground point right now.

“He, uh, left.” Chuck answered uncomfortably. Just behind him Michael shook his head. “Lucifer left when he saw that he wasn’t going to get his way. He didn’t leave like you did, though, Castiel. He didn’t make his life saving people, rather instead he went here and there corrupting them.” Michael spat as if he’d swallowed raw onions, but Dean could see the trace of sadness in his eyes after having lost yet another brother. “He’s in some cage in prison now.”

“’Saving people?’” Cas said again, his head tilting in confusion.

“He’s saying something I said to him about you just after he knocked you unconscious,” Dean filled him in, rubbing circles in Cas’s hand with his thumb. He turned back to Michael, “I ticket you listened to me then?”

Michael nodded before he motioned for Chuck to continue. “Father has something to tell you, Cas.”

“Dad,” Cas speaks before Chuck could start, eyes resolute. “Before you tell me to come back I’m afraid I can’t. I can’t live in your world of set rules and regulations. I’m not the son you want me to be and I’m afraid I never will be.” Castiel’s voice was shaking slightly, his declarations extremely difficult to say until that moment.

“Son—“

“I’m sorry, Dad—.”

“Castiel, just listen please.” Chuck spoke quickly and with authority in his voice before Castiel could continue speaking. Dean felt his hand get squished under Castiel’s grip as the blue-eyed boy shrunk back in fear.

Chuck didn’t fail to notice Cas’s demeanor. He softened, a look of defeat and guilt stamped onto his face. “Michael showed me your videos, about the people that have come up to you saying thank you and your advice in difficult situations, about the stories you’d tell them but not us, about me not listening to you at all... I see now just how ostracized you must have felt and how little I had actually paid attention to you.” Chuck spoke quietly, his entire character the mirror of regret and sorrow. “I thought the only path for my children was my choosing, to make sure that they turned out better than me in all ways. I thought that if I could write the future than sorrow would dissipate from our lives... But I failed to see that my children have a right to be themselves; to be _human_ , and I paid for that dearly with the loss of Anna and even more when you left.” Chuck had tears threatening to go over in his eyes. “I am not asking for you to return home, because I know that you were never happy there. You made your life into one that helps others out of the kindness of your heart even after having suffered terrible loss.” He gestured to Dean, “You found someone that makes you happy and what more could I wish for my son but happiness? The only thing that I ask is your forgiveness.” His voice broke at the final words. Even Michael behind him wouldn’t look at anything but the floor.

Dean could feel his eyes stinging at witnessing Chuck breaking down in front of him. It’s not have been easy to acknowledge doing something wrong unto another, even more so when that other was his own child. Dean turned to look into Castiel’s eyes and found that the other boy was equally as teary-eyed as himself. Cas’s mouth was wavering agape as he stared at Chuck, no doubt attempting to wrap his mind around his father’s raw confessions.

It was in that moment that Jody and Charlie reentered the area. “Sorry to interrupt, but that call was the station. Crowley has been apprehended and is being extradited to California. I just thought I’d let you all know,” She smiled before bidding farewell to the silent room and retreating once again.

A spell seemed to break in that moment. “It’s over then,” Dean pushed his shoulder against Cas, snapping him out of his trance. Cas hadn’t heard Jody at all apparently. “Crowley’s gonna be in hell for the rest of his life no doubt.”

“Y-yes,” Castiel agreed, the realization slowly spreading across his face as a smile replaced the shock.

Dean face mirrored Castiel’s as he pecked Cas on the nose, not caring about present company at the moment. It was enough to snap Castiel’s mind back to attention however.

He turned his attention to his father, who had a face of joy on the news that transformed into rapt attention as he prepared himself for what Cas would say. “Dad, thank you for coming to tell me this. It means a lot to know that you’ve accepted me for who I am, regardless of how long it took for you to come to terms with it. I am happy where I am, even more so now that I know the demon that had been attempting to harass me is no longer among the free and the living.” Cas paused for breath. “It will take some time for me to fully give forgiveness, but this is a step in the right direction.” He offered his dad a small smile before moving from next to Dean to embrace his dad in a hug, Chuck now openly crying in exasperation at Cas’s words. Dean could just see how ever slightly Cas’s family was mending itself after such terrible losses. He thought back to all of the things that he had learned about Cas, those nights where they had been alone and did nothing but talk and get to know one another in the early stages, about Cas’s initial video after Anna died, about how Dean had poured his heart out to him when Sam got hurt and Castiel had done the same. So much pain and suffering dealt on both sides, part of it a result of life and part of it from a boy that had no other joy but to destroy others.

Neither Dean nor Cas could do anything about their families, but they Crowley is now gone and his ring is disbanded. It really was a step in the right direction. Dean grinned as Castiel walked his family out the door before returning to sit next to him.

“What?”

“It’s over.”

“I suppose it is. What’re we gonna do now?”

Dean’s smile grew wider. “You’re gonna give me back my shoes,” the last few words were muffled between kisses as Dean leaned into Castiel.

 


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you to everyone that has read the story and has commented. It's made my day exponentially better reading the reactions people have been having and to hear feedback about the story has been grand. I hope the ending and the epilogue are a good fit for the end to this story. Agh, how will I spend my days after this???

“Anna would have loved you guys,” Castiel said for what was probably the billionth time over the last 3 months. Crowley was convicted of all the charges; therefore he was officially out of the Winchesters and Novaks’ lives for good. His ring of demons disbanded quickly without a leader. Ruby transferred school due to “illness,” though Meg said that it was due to her parents finding out about what she’d done to Sam and sending her packing to a boarding school.

Cas caught Dean rolling his eyes as Sam finished setting up the camera equipment. There they were, the three of them sitting comfortably in the bunker, Team Free Will, about to record a milestone video. SamSolves has officially blown past 800,000 subscribers and counting. On top of that Castiel had recently one a Streamy Award for his channel, therefore a video commemorating both occasions was due. Naturally Sam wanted to celebrate with another 7-second challenge, this time with Dean and Cas as the main acts.

They’d been recording for a little over twenty minutes, both boys playing with hula-hoops and attempting (and failing) to contain their laughter whenever the other looked like a goof (which was every few seconds).

“Okay, calm down,” Dean barely managed to say after his recent fit of laughter died down enough for him to speak. He was holding the phone with the app on it while Sam manned the camera, Castiel sitting close enough to him so that their knees were touching. The online Destiel fandom had only managed to grow in the recent months following all of the events of the past year, and while Dean and Cas relatively kept their private lives in between them, they knew the importance of these little touches to the fans. Of course, that wasn’t going to slow them down.

Dean smirked at the screen, prompting Castiel’s now apparently signature quizzical look to manifest. “What is the challenge, Dean?”

“Yeah, you have to say it for the camera,” Sam added.

Dean only laughed, his face somewhat pinker. Even after a couple of months Dean would still get flustered over the littlest details when they were in public or recording; Cas never quite understood why. He motioned for Dean to show him the phone. Dean obliged and passed it to him with a knowing smile.

 

**CHALLENGE: KISS THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU ON THE CHEEK ROMANTICALLY**

 

“What is it?” Sam reiterated once Castiel’s face grew into a slightly embarrassed smile of it’s own.

“Well, you see, Sam,” Castiel played out the silence, knowing full well that Sam was going to be editing this bit for a while for the fans. “It seems that the next challenge is to kiss the person next to you on the check in a romantic fashion.” For whatever reason Cas felt his face grow warm. Unlike Dean, Cas sometimes got shy when it came to public displays of affection.

“Aw, come on,” Dean prodded Castiel’s ribs. “It’s just on the cheek, Cas.”

 _Just on the cheek my ass,_ Castiel thought as he shot his boyfriend a look. “Anna would have loved you guys,” he said again almost on instinct.

“Ready?” Dean’s green eyes search Castiel’s blue, the small echo of nervousness that still came with young love etched into the forest of greens. Castiel couldn’t help but give him a sheepish smile, the feeling mutual as he felt his pulse quicken.

“Yes, Dean,” Cas angled his head so as to give Dean full access to his cheek, his eyes wandering into the distance pretending as if this was not as important to him as it really was for the camera.

“Go,” Dean all but whispers just as Castiel turns back around to meet Dean’s lips with his own, each letting out a quiet laugh as their lips collided.

Both knew that this would’ve been the end result from the moment Dean showed Cas the challenge. In just the amount of time they had really known each other, both boys’ lives have been permanently changed. They’d braved through the lowest points of their lives together, been through the trenches and back again, there for each other in their darkest hours. Through all of the ups and downs, they’d made it through, and who would’ve thought it would’ve been through YouTube?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you :')

**Author's Note:**

> The storyline is very loosely written so I'd love to hear any feedback whatsoever. My tumblr is cardinaleyes


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